Delhi Capitals name Jemimah as captain for 2026 WPL season as she replaces former skipper Meg Lanning in the role.
Jemimah Rodrigues appointed Delhi Capitals captain ahead of WPL 2026.
Before the fourth season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), Jemimah Rodrigues has been appointed captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC). She takes over for Meg Lanning, who led DC to the WPL finals in the previous three seasons but was let go by the team for the next campaign.
“For you all to trust me with the role feels good,” Rodrigues said in conversation with DC co-owner Parth Jindal on JioHotstar. “I know what DC has done for me and DC will always have a special place in my heart and I am going to my all for the team. To be trusted in the role feels special. Thank you for the honour. I promise to work hard as always and with a lot of dignity, pride and will give my heart out for this team.
“One thing that DC rides on is building a team culture, which is the best culture I have been a part of. I just want to carry that going forward and make sure everyone just feels safe. I believe that when they feel safe outside, then they are able to express themselves and give their lives for the team. Just want to make sure that every player feels valued.”
“We have done so well as a team. Credit to Meg too for the way she has led the team for the last three years,” she said. “I can’t talk enough about the way she has led the team in the last three years, about what she has done and the culture she has brought into the team. She has inspired me so much to lead and I have learnt a lot from her.”
In the initial WPL 2023 auction, DC’s first bid was for Rodrigues. She has played all of her cricket for DC-27 in the WPL, where she has amassed 507 runs at a rate of 28.16, with a top score of 69. She is ranked third on DC’s run-scorer table, behind Shafali Verma (865) and Lanning (952). In recent years, Rodrigues has also become DC’s finisher.
“Jemi as a personality is loved by the whole country,” Jindal said. “Your energy, the way you dance on the ground, the way you do things off the ground, you make the entire environment very light. At the same time, you are very intense, the way you pump your gloves, the way you score a boundary or the way you encourage the boundary on the other side or the bowlers.”
Rodrigues’ 2025 has been incredible. She scored a game-winning 127* against Australia in the semi-final to help India win their first ODI World Cup. She has the third-most runs for India in ODIs (771) and T20Is (177) this year. India then won the title after defeating South Africa in the championship match.
On January 10, 2026, DC will begin their WPL 2026 campaign against the Mumbai Indians. They qualified for the final each of the three seasons after topping the points table in the group stage, but they haven’t yet won the championship.