Delhi Capitals will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 1.
With multiple top-order options available in the squad, the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) opening combination for the IPL 2026 has been a debatable point. However, skipper Axar Patel has recently revealed that KL Rahul will be one of their openers for the upcoming season. This has narrowed down the discussion to figuring out his opening partner among the other domestic and overseas choices.
The latest pull out of England batter Ben Duckett has ruled him out of contention. Among two of the promising domestic talents, Prithvi Shaw and Abhishek Porel, and the star Sri Lanka player Pathum Nissanka, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed Shaw to open the innings for DC with Rahul.
The former DC player (then Delhi Daredevils) believes Shaw should regain his spot at the top of the order after putting up an impressive show in the domestic circuit across formats. Notably, the batter went unsold in the previous edition after back-to-back underwhelming outings. But following his resurgence in the domestic tournaments, the franchise have acquired him back in the IPL 2026 mini auction for INR 75 lakh.
“They got him at a very good price. I think those hungry players who went unsold last year always come with a point to prove. Prithvi Shaw will come to prove a point. The hungry players who have gotten dropped are very excited, but along with that, they also put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform,” said Irfan on his YouTube channel.
Last year, the side had experimented with various top-order combinations throughout the league, which also involved the Bengal wicketkeeper-batter, Porel. He had scored 301 runs in 13 matches, out of which 183 runs came while opening the innings, at a strike rate of 152.50. However, the former player has picked the pair of Shaw and Rahul as the perfect opening combination for the Capitals in the IPL 2026.
“They have the option of Abhishek Porel. But I think they should go with Prithvi Shaw and give him clarity about his role,” he opined.
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After a seven-year-long stint with DC, Shaw’s persistent lean patch saw him out of their retention list ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Moreover, no franchise had raised a single bid for the batter, as he ended up going unsold for the season. But the 26-year-old is coming off a decent domestic season and would hope to script a memorable comeback in the IPL 2026.
He had notched up 183 runs in seven appearances to become the second-highest run-scorer for Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. The opener also carried on the form, scoring two half-centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, followed by a magnificent 222-run knock against Chandigarh and three fifty-plus knocks in the subsequent Ranji Trophy.
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