Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal talked about KL Rahul’s first words to him after the Karnataka batter-keeper was bought by the franchise in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction. KL Rahul was bought by DC for a mere INR 14 crores, as he entered the auction after being released by LSG.

KL Rahul and Parth Jindal have already spoken to each other and the DC co-owner revealed that he had a positive talk with Rahul, whom he knows from their Bengaluru connection.

"He's very happy, very excited to be part of Delhi. He has known me for a long time. He's a Bangalore (Bengaluru) boy. I own Bengaluru FC (in ISL), so he's watched a few games with me. I know his wife Athiya (Shetty) well. She's been a close family friend growing up in Mumbai," Jindal said to ESPNCricinfo.

The Delhi franchise co-owner further said that Rahul only wants the franchise's respect and support, which explains his unceremonious exit from the LSG team.

"So, he (Rahul) was like, 'I just want to play cricket. I just want to get the love and support from the franchise. I just want to get the respect and I know Parth from you, I will get that and just can't be more excited to play for a friend and let's make Delhi win. I have never won (IPL). Delhi has never won. Let's do it together,'" the DC co-owner added.

Parth Jindal was asked what KL Rahul offered the DC franchise and Jindal stated that he brings in is stability, and the Kotla ground will be suited to his style of batting.

“Stability, number one. He's an incredible, I would say, technically solid batsman. He will thrive at the Kotla, given the size of the ground. He also gives us flexibility: he can bat anywhere in the top four, and that's a very rare skill for someone to have. He's also a great senior player to have in the dressing room, and a great mind for the game as well. And he's just a great brand ambassador. He's super polite, he's gentle, he's aggressive when he needs to be. And the most obvious thing he gives you is 450 runs (in a season) guaranteed, which is something he's done his whole (IPL) career. So that kind of consistency is rare to find,” Jindal said.

When asked about the captaincy, Jindal couldn't say whether the Karnataka batter will be their new leader. The Capitals retained Axar Patel and his tenure with the team makes the all-rounder a candidate for the leadership position.

“It's a bit premature to talk about the captaincy. Axar Patel has been with the franchise for a very long time and he was the vice-captain for the last cycle, so we don't know whether it's going to be Axar or whether it's going be somebody else. A lot has to happen. I spoke to KL but haven't met him yet. I know him very well personally, I will understand from him (what he thinks), and, it will boil down to what the coaching group and finally what Kiran (Grandhi, the co-owner) and I want to do. There's a lot of time for that,” Jindal stated.

(ESPNCricinfo inputs)