New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL), three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) are set to announce their new captain for the upcoming season on Sunday evening.
DC were captained by Australia’s multiple times World Cup winning skipper Meg Lanning, but fell short of winning the WPL title in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively. But with Meg released by the franchise and being roped in by UP Warriorz (UPW) at the mega auction in New Delhi last month, they have a leadership void to fill.
IANS understands that India batter Jemimah Rodrigues and South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt are in the race to be DC’s new captain. “Jemimah had been DC’s vice-captain for three seasons, while Laura has considerable international leadership experience by leading the Proteas. It will be interesting to see who they go with,” said a source familiar with the matter to IANS on Saturday.
The new captain’s announcement by DC will also be made live on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network channels at 6pm on Sunday evening, just before India’s opening T20I against Sri Lanka takes place at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Barring a last-minute change, DC might go in with an Indian skipper if co-owner Parth Jindal’s words in the mega auction are to go by.
“I think we are very clear that we would like to have an Indian as the captain. So depending on who else we land, we already have our mind made up. But let’s see what happens, but I mean Laura will add a lot of leadership (qualities) into the dressing room. But we are clear that we want to go with an Indian captain,” Jindal had said in the press conference during the mega auction.
DC will open their 2026 WPL campaign against defending champions and two-time winners Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 10. This is the first time a WPL season will be played in the January-February window. The final will take place at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on February 5.
–IANS
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