Karun Nair will take its place as a opener of the wounded faf du Plessis, Delhi Capitals Jake Fraser-McGurk

The Delhi Capitals (DC) have finally cut the long rope they provided to Jake Fraser-McGurk. The Australian opener who was on fire the last Indian Premier League (IPL) season has had a horrid time in 2025. In his last 4 matches, JFM has scored just 16 runs. With his highest score being 9.

Jake Fraser-McGurk dropped

Therefore, Axar Patel has finally dropped him. DC have temporarily lost one opener, Faf du Plessis, to injury. But such has been JFM’s performance that DC have been forced to play without their two overseas openers.

Karun Nair, who impressed against the Mumbai Indians, has been promoted up the order as opener. Abhishek Porel, who has been coming into the team as the impact substitute player, has been named in the starting XI against the Gujarat Titans.

“We are focusing on our process and execution. We keep talking about improvements. The dressing room atmosphere has been good. It is important to be clear in your ideas. We have given them clear roles. You might get success sometimes, and sometimes you won’t get it. Jake is not playing,” Axar said after losing the toss.

DC Playing XI vs GT

Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar

Impact Subs: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Darshan Nalkande, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Dushmantha Chameera