IPL 2026 auction: How Delhi Capitals stack up
What's the story
More than 300 players will go under the hammer in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction set to take place on December 16. Delhi Capitals (DC), who missed the playoff berth in 2025, have a decent remaining purse going into the bidding event. The Capitals, who have a potent captain in Axar Patel, can fill in a maximum of eight slots (five overseas).
Players released
Players released and purse remaining
Ahead of the auction, DC released Faf du Plessis, one of the most experienced players in T20 cricket. While South Africa's Donovan Ferreira was traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR), the Capitals also parted ways with the dangerous Jake Fraser-McGurk. Meanwhile, DC also released Darshan Nalkande, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, and Sediqullah Atal. The Capitals will enter the auction with ₹21.80 crore.
Information
Players retained by DC
Players retained: Nitish Rana (traded in from RR), Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, and Mukesh Kumar.
Strategy
Road ahead for DC
At the 2026 IPL mini-auction, DC are expected to go after overseas players as they have five slots to fill. The demand would also be there due to the departure of du Plessis and Fraser-McGurk. While DC have a star-studded bowling attack (both spin and pace), they are devoid of solid openers and top-order batters.
Campaign
How DC fared in IPL 2025
DC missed the 2025 playoff berth despite having a strong side. They finished fifth with seven wins. Regular skipper Axar Patel was unfit for some of the matches, and du Plessis took over the reins. Notably, DC became the first team in IPL history to win their first four matches but fail to make the playoffs. Both KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav were impressive.