Delhi Capitals (DC) have identified star Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues as the new captain of the franchise from the next Women’s Premier League (WPL 2026) season, Cricbuzz confirmed. Jemimah, who was one of the clinical performers for India during their recent maiden World Cup win, will now take over the DC captaincy reins from Meg Lanning.
The Capitals are the most unfortunate side in the WPL, having featured in all three finals so far but have yet to win the title. Jemimah will hope that she can help DC break the jinx and marshal the troops to their first-ever IPL success.
While the official announcement for the same is expected to be tomorrow (December 23), DC have already teased the news with a social media video that have sparked the interest of the fans.
ALSO READ:
One of the primary reasons for DC opting for a new leader is because they couldn’t buy back Meg Lanning after releasing her ahead of the WPL 2026 auction. Delhi also did not have any RTMs available after using all five retention spots for – Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp and Niki Prasad. Lanning eventually went to UP Warriorz, who paid INR 1.9 crores for the Aussie.
DC did manage to buy Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt but co-owner Parth Jindal had clarified that they would have an Indian captain post-auction.
Jemimah’s promotion thus comes on expected lines, given her longstanding association with the franchise. Incidentally, she was also the first player the franchise signed in the inaugural auction. The 25-year-old now had clearly been earmarked as a key figure going ahead in Delhi’s long-term plans and was the first of the five retentions DC announced ahead of the next cycle.
Although Jemimah Rodrigues doesn’t have much leadership experience in top-tier, she has led teams in junior levels and domestic cricket and also served as vice-captain for India in the past. Furthermore, she has good game awareness and a calm demeanour, essential for a leader apart from sharing a strong bond with both Indian and overseas players.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
