Delhi Capitals (DC) have revealed their retained and released players list ahead of the mini-auction, and despite not letting go of many big names from their team, they have managed a decent purse for the upcoming mini-auction.
Delhi Capitals (DC) made some positive signings that became monuments to their success at the start of the 2025 IPL season, but the Capitals failed to continue their great run in the second half of the tournament and kept losing games, finishing 5th only by one point behind Mumbai Indians in the playoff race.
Axar Patel, who was handed the captaincy last season, is expected to take over the captaincy for the upcoming season as well. The all-rounder is now a vital asset for the Indian team across all formats.
Retained players of Delhi Capitals (DC)
Although many speculations suggested that Delhi are hoping to move on from their most prolific batsman from last season, KL Rahul as his trade news also surfaced on the internet, but the Capitals have proved all the claims wrong as they have retained the experienced Indian batsman.
Furthermore, they have retained all their big-budget contracts in the form of Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar and most surprisingly T. Natarajan, who could not even play a few matches last season.
Maintained – Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Abhishek Porel, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Tripura Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera.
Delhi Capitals (DC) released players
Delhi Capitals (DC) parted ways with both their opening batsmen Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser McGurk, adding a huge sum of Rs 11 crore to their purse. Mohit Sharma was another player who received an amount of 8 points from the purse, who was released.
Delhi Capitals released players: Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sediqullah Atal, Manwant Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Darshan Nalkande.
Trade was done – Donovan Ferreira(RR)
Delhi Capitals (DC) add left-hander from RR in trade
Delhi Capitals looked impeccable in many areas last season, but batting was definitely not one of them. With KL Rahul out, there was not a single reliable and consistent batsman in the lineup, which led to their downfall.
KL Rahul was also changed at various positions in the batting order, but despite all this, they lacked a proper middle-order star. Left-handed batsman Nitish Rana, who moved from UP to Delhi this year in the domestic season, has filled that void after being traded to Rajasthan Royals.
Rana is the kingpin of the middle-order and his presence could give KL Rahul a confirmed spot as an opener, possibly alongside Abhishek Porel. Rana will also add some firepower to their batting lineup, which they lacked last season.
Delhi Capitals Team: Axar Patel (captain), KL Rahul, Abhishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Nitish Rana, Madhav Tiwari, Tripura Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera.
Also read: CSK retained and released players list for IPL 2026: Chennai Super Kings full squad before the auction
