Time running out for Jake Fraser-McGurk? Samson expected to try out Kwena Maphaka: DC vs RR IPL 2025 Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals will look to return to winning ways when they take the field at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 fixture. The Axar Patel-led Delhi lost a close encounter against Mumbai Indians, while Rajasthan Royals were thumped by nine wickets by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

The defeats exposed major chinks in the armour of both the teams. Delhi Capitals, who lost their first match of the IPL 2025 season, have been failing to get off to good starts, primarily due to the lacklustre form of Australia opener Jake Fraser-McGurk.

Five matches have passed by and the right-hander is yet to get going. With Karun Nair scoring 89 runs as an impact sub against Mumbai Indians and no update on Faf du Plessis' availability, the management might just decide to leave McGurk out and bring in Donovan Ferreira.

Abishek Porel can open the batting alongside Karun Nair or KL Rahul. The latter had opened the batting for Delhi against Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk. The team, who have four wins to their name, are expected to make no other changes to the playing XI.

Speaking of Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions have failed to find their mojo in the ongoing 18th edition of the tournament. The spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have failed to spin a web around their opponents, and this might just prompt Sanju Samson and Rahul Dravid to leave out Theekshana and bring in Kwena Maphaka into the playing XI.

Rajasthan Royals have been guilty of playing around with their middle order a bit too much, which has led to Shimron Hetmyer not getting enough balls to face. Sanju has also blown hot and cold during this tournament, and consistency is the need of the hour.

Delhi Capitals are currently second in the points table, while Rajasthan Royals are in eighth place.

Here are the likely XIs and impact subs

Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, Donovan Ferreira, Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma.

Impact sub: Mukesh Kumar

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande.

Impact sub: Kumar Karthikeya