DC Retained and Released players list for IPL 2026: Full Delhi Capitals squad ahead of the auction
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The Delhi Capitals (DC) have revealed their list of players retained and released ahead of the mini-auction, and despite not having let go of several big names from their squad, they have managed a handsome purse for the upcoming mini-auction.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) made some positive signings that turned monumental to their success early in the 2025 IPL season, but the Capitals failed to continue their stupendous run in the second half of the tournament and kept losing games, only to finish in the 5th position with just one point behind the Mumbai Indians in the race for the playoffs.
Axar Patel, who was handed the captaincy last season, is expected to lead for the upcoming season as well. The all-rounder is now a crucial asset to the Indian team across all formats.
Delhi Capitals (DC) Retained players
Though several speculations suggested that Delhi might be looking forward to moving on from their last season's most prolific batter, KL Rahul, as his trade news also surfaced on the internet, the Capitals have proved all claims wrong as they have retained the veteran Indian batter.
Moreover, they have retained all of their big-budget signings in the form of Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, and, most surprisingly, T. Natarajan, who could not even play a handful of games last season.
Retained - Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel (C), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, and Dushmantha Chameera
Delhi Capitals (DC) Released Players
The Delhi Capitals (DC) parted ways with both their opening batters, Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser McGurk, which led to the addition of a massive 11 crores to their purse. Mohit Sharma was another player drawing an 8-figure amount from the purse, who was released.
Delhi Capitals Released Players: Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sediqullah Atal, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, and Darshan Nalkande.
Traded out - Donovan Ferreira (RR)
Delhi Capitals (DC) roped in RR left-hander in trade
The Delhi Capitals looked flawless in many areas last season, but batting was surely not one of them. Keeping out KL Rahul, there was not even a single dependable and consistent batter in the lineup, which led to being the reason for their downfall.
KL Rahul was also swapped over different positions in the batting order, but despite all, they lacked a proper middle-order star. Nitish Rana, the left-handed batter who moved from UP to Delhi in the domestic season this year, has filled that void after being traded in from the Rajasthan Royals.
Rana is a middle-order kingpin, and his presence could hand KL Rahul a fixed spot as an opener, possibly alongside Abhishek Porel. Rana would also add some firepower to their batting lineup, which they profusely lacked last season.
Delhi Capitals Squad: Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Nitish Rana, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, and Dushmantha Chameera.
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