Jemimah Rodrigues has been named Delhi Capitals (DC) captain ahead of the fourth season of the Women's Premier League (WPL). She replaces Meg Lanning in the role, who had taken DC to the final of the first three editions of the WPL but wasn't retained by the franchise for the upcoming season.
"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."
The 25-year-old also credited Lanning for building a strong culture at DC and wishes to carry that forward. "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."
Rodrigues, the vice-captain until last season, had emerged as a captaincy candidate as she was one of the five players DC had retained ahead of the auction alongside Marizanne Kapp, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland and Niki Prasad.
Rodrigues was the first player that DC bid for back in the inaugural WPL 2023 auction and has been central to their plans from the start. She has played all her cricket in the WPL for DC - 27 matches, where she has scored 507 runs at 28.16 with a highest score of 69. She is third on the run-scorer's chart for DC behind Lanning (952) and Shafali Verma (865). Rodrigues has also been DC's finisher in the last couple of years.
"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 has had a sensational 2025. She has the third-most runs for India in ODIs (771) and T20Is (177) this year and was key to them winning their maiden ODI World Cup, scoring a match-winning 127* against Australia in the semi-final. India then beat South Africa in the final to lift the title.
DC start their WPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians on January 10, 2026. They topped the points table in the group stage in each of the three seasons and qualified for the final each time but are yet to win the title.