No Meg Lanning, No Problem! Jemimah Rodrigues Gets Huge Backing From DC Legend

Delhi Capitals (DC)’s senior all-rounder Marizanne Kapp believes that Jemimah Rodrigues is more than capable of filling in the huge shoes left by Meg Lanning, the Australian great who captained the team in their first three years of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). DC released Lanning, considered the greatest women’s captain of all time, ahead of the 2026 mega auction, and failed to sign her back.

DC had the likes of Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt available in their ranks for captaincy. However, the franchise was intent on appointing an Indian name, and Rodrigues, who has been with the team since the first year, was the easy choice. Although her case was strengthened by her match-winning performances in the 2025 World Cup, Kapp said she believed in the 25-year-old

long before most.

“Look, I’m not going to lie,” Kapp said during a virtual interaction. “Losing Meg as a captain is obviously a big thing. She’s a very successful captain, not only for DC, but in world cricket in general. But I mentioned actually a couple of years ago, when they asked me who should India’s next captain be, I actually said Jemimah.”

“I feel like she’s one of those players who can bring a team together, just her personality and a caring factor the way she is. I feel like she’s always been a leader. And look, there will be challenges. Even if you are an experienced captain, there will always be challenges.”

Kapp said that Rodrigues would be helped by the fact that DC have most of their core intact.

“I feel Jemimah has a lot of senior players around her. We still have a lot of players here that’s been here before. I mean, management is still the same. So she has a lot of support if she does struggle. But I believe Jemimah will take this opportunity with both hands and I think she’ll be very successful.”

DC would hope that Rodrigues can help them end the streak of runners-up finishes.

“I don’t think it’s a case of pressure. We’ve done so well over the past three years. I feel like at some stages, it was just a bit of bad luck. First season, I think we lost three wickets with full tosses that on any other day could have ended up being no balls. Then second year, it was probably the slowest wicket we played on … so it’s a mixed bag of bad luck and us not playing too well, not having our best days in the finals,” Kapp said.