IPL Auction 2025: Munaf Patel joins Delhi Capitals for this Gigantic Project

Ahead of the much-awaited IPL 2025 mega auction, the Delhi Capitals (DC) have officially welcomed World Cup-winning pacer Munaf Patel as their new bowling coach. Delhi Capitals (DC) confirmed Munaf Patel’s appointment as their new bowling coach on Tuesday, November 12.

This appointment marked a fresh chapter for the team’s support staff, now led by Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao and Head Coach Hemang Badani. It was a complete overhaul of the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) coaching setup to achieve success in the upcoming season.

Munaf Patel joins Delhi Capitals (DC) as bowling coach ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction

Munaf Patel, who brings extensive experience from his time representing India across all formats, has replaced James Hopes as the bowling coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise. The former Indian pacer also enjoyed notable IPL careers with Rajasthan Royals (RR), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Gujarat Lions (GL). Patel has made his mark.

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Munaf Patel played 63 games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and took 74 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.51. His last IPL appearance was in 2017, and now he is set to return to action as a coach, aiming to enhance franchise’s bowling prowess.

With this job, Munaf Patel is making a grand entry into the world of high-profile coaching. It is his first major role since retiring from competitive cricket in 2018. However, the former Indian pacer has occasionally appeared in tournaments featuring former players after stepping away from the game.

Here's how DC announces Munaf Patel's signing:

Old-school grit 🤝 Winning mindset

Welcome to DC, legend 🥹💙 pic.twitter.com/d62DSCcqNR

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 12, 2024

❤️💙 ➡️ 😄 pic.twitter.com/04uaunVDqF

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 12, 2024

Notably, Munaf was renowned for his reverse swing and sharp yorkers during his playing days. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals’ new coaching team has been selected keeping in mind the upcoming three-year IPL cycle, including a major player auction later this month.

As part of a three-year IPL cycle plan, the Delhi franchise has retained a solid core, including spin-bowling allrounder Axar Patel, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, South African power-hitter Tristan Stubbs, and young wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel.

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We have the ideal blend of experience and youth: Parth Jindal

After the retention, DC co-owner Parth Jindal stated, “In Axar, Kuldeep, Tristan, and Abishek, we have the ideal blend of experience and youth, and I am very pleased with our retentions. I would have liked to retain more players who have turned out for DC, but the rules mean we have to pick strategically.

Going into the auction, we will have two RTM cards, and that leaves the door open for players who have worn the DC shirt in the past to carry on with us. We know who we want and will make sure to get some, if not all, of the players back. With this important milestone behind us, the team is working tirelessly on the mega auction. Our intent is to build a strong and balanced squad that can bring home a much-awaited IPL trophy to our city.”

The Delhi Capitals have an auction purse of INR 73 crore—the third-highest among franchises—for the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, where they will bolster their lineup to break a three-year streak of missing the playoffs.