IPL 2021 Auction: “We’re Looking To Go For Backups For Our Players”- Delhi Capitals’ Assistant Coach Mohammad Kaif

The upcoming IPL 2021 auction might be a mini-auction one, but all of the franchises are going in it with some or another plan. Similar is the case with Delhi Capitals, whose assistant coach Mohammad Kaif underlined the team’s plans for the upcoming auction.

The IPL 2021 auction will be taking place on February 18 in Chennai and will see 292 players going under the hammer with 164 of them being Indian players. There are 61 slots to be filled and Delhi Capitals have to fill 8 places in their squad. 3 of those slots are to be filled with overseas players, and 5 local players.

We’ll Be Looking To Acquire Some Back-Up Players- Mohammad Kaif

Delhi Capitals released the likes of Alex Carey, Keemo Paul, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohit Sharma, and Jason Roy and retained as many as 17 players. The team had made it into their maiden IPL final in the 2020 edition and might not want to mess with the core group of players, but may instead want to look for backups of some important players.

“We have released a few players, so we will be looking to fill those gaps. I think flexibility is the key in the auction. One can have all the plans for the auction, but things can change on the auction table. We have to make spontaneous decisions. Our main players have been playing continuously and there are no fitness issues as well. So, we’ll be looking to acquire some back-up players in tomorrow’s auction,” Kaif said to India Today.

Speaking of the backups, one of the players who can do with some backup are openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Though Shikhar Dhawan was in terrific form in IPL 2020, becoming the first batsman to hit two back-to-back centuries; Prithvi Shaw had a terrible tournament and has not been in great knick since then either.

We Can Field A Team If The IPL 2021 Begins On Thursday: Pravin Amre

Delhi Capitals’ second assistant coach Pravin Amre seemed confident on the eve of the IPL 2021 auction and mentioned that the franchise can field a XI even if the tournament gets underway on Thursday.

“To be honest, if we are asked to play tomorrow also, we have a playing XI ready with us, so I think that’s the successful planning, and that’s what we learned from other teams also, who back their core for a long time,” Amre added.

Also Read: IPL 2021 Auction: 5 Youngsters Who Can Attract Massive Bids