Aakash Chopra reveals Delhi Capitals will release David Warner ahead of IPL Mega Auction

Former Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Aakash Chopra doesn't think that the Delhi Capitals will be retaining their former captain David Warner in the 2025 auction.

After the conclusion of IPL 2024 wherein KKR lifted their 3rd title, all the franchises will start working on their strategies for the 2025 edition. The case will be similar for Delhi Capitals who finished 6th in the points table this year. DC will be aiming to first figure out who their retentions are going to be and which players they are going to target for the Mega Auction of the next IPL edition.

Uneventful yet eventful IPL 2024 season for Delhi

Even though the Delhi Capitals could not manage to finish in the top 4, there were a lot of positives for the franchise this season. First is the arrival of full-time captain Rishabh Pant. Second would be the comeup and revelation of Jake Fraser-McGurk and third will be their Indian core side which outperformed the foreign acquisitions.

The likes of Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, and Khaleel Ahmed are some players who have truly pushed their case to be a core part of the team.

Aakash Chopra feels David Warner's time with Delhi Capitals is over

While speaking about Delhi Capitals' retention plans, Aakash Chopra started off by claiming that David Warner's time with the franchise is over. Warner was bought by DC during the 2022 Mega auction for a price of 6.25 Crores and returned to his first-ever IPL team since 2013.

In his returning season, Warner amassed 432 runs from 12 matches but Delhi couldn't reach the play-offs. In 2023, David Warner was appointed as captain due to the absence of Rishabh Pant, who was recovering from a horrific car accident in late 2022. Under his captaincy, Delhi Capitals would finish at the bottom-half with Warner becoming the team's leading run-scorer with 516 runs.

However, in IPL 2024, David Warner could not manage to display his charisma for even one match. Due to his hot and cold form, Warner was included in the playing XI just 8 times from which he scored 168 runs. Warner is also at the toe-end of his career as he is aged 37 and therefore, Aakash Chopra believes his time with Delhi is over.

Aakash Chopra also shed light on the performance of Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, a player known for his destructive nature. Even if Marsh comes in with a lot of reputation, he hasn't done anything special for Delhi Capitals in his 3-year stay with the franchise.

This season Mitchell Marsh left in the 1st half of the tournament itself to manage his hamstring injury. Aakash Chopra thinks that Marsh will not be in Delhi Capitals' plans because he hasn't played a full season yet despite so much promise in his name.

"The Australian investment is not working, whether it is David Warner or Mitchell Marsh. I don't remember a single season Mitchell Marsh played fully and did well. He can do well but doesn't play a full season. I think David Warner is done. You might not want to retain him. Forget Jhye Richardson, he won't even come into their thoughts." - Aakash Chopra said in his YT video.