Delhi Capitals came very close to reaching the playoffs in IPL 2025. They won seven matches and lost six from their 14 games with one match washed out by rain. DC finished fifth on the points table with 15 points and a net run rate of +0.011. After being runners-up in 2020, missing out by such a small margin was a tough result for the team.
Ahead of the auction, Delhi Capitals brought in left-handed batter Nitish Rana from Rajasthan Royals through a trade. They went into the auction with eight spots to fill, including room for five overseas players. Led by Axar Patel, the team relied heavily on KL Rahul, who was their highest run-scorer, while Kuldeep Yadav led the bowling with the most wickets last season.
During the auction, DC focused on adding more strength to their batting line-up. They signed Pathum Nissanka and experienced finisher David Miller. The franchise also picked up young talent Auqib Nabi from Jammu & Kashmir, who has been doing well in domestic cricket. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson was also added to the squad and turned out to be the final buy of the auction.
Highs and Lows in Delhi Capitals IPL History
Being one of the teams that has played in the IPL since the very first season, Delhi Capitals will hope for a more steady and confident campaign this year. The team lost momentum in the second half of last season and they will want to stay consistent throughout the tournament this time. With their auction plans done, the focus now shifts to performance on the field.
Delhi’s IPL journey has seen many ups and downs. The team started strongly by reaching the knockouts in the first two seasons. However, results dipped for many years after that, with only a few bright moments as the team struggled to settle on the right mix of players.
From 2008 to 2013, then known as Delhi Daredevils, the side had big stars like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan. A fresh start as Delhi Capitals brought better days from 2019 to 2021 including a final appearance in 2020. Since the changes after the 2022 auction, though, DC have been searching for stability and hope this season will finally bring it back.
ALSO READ: WPL 2026 Delhi Capitals: Retained Players, New Signings, Full Squad & Schedule
DC Retained / Traded Players (IPL 2026)
DC Auction Buys (IPL 2026 Mini Auction)
Delhi Capitals Squad for IPL 2026
KL Rahul, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Ben Duckett, Prithvi Shaw, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, T. Natarajan, Nitish Rana, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar, Karun Nair, Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Abishek Porel, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Auqib Nabi Dar.
Delhi Capitals Possible Playing XI
Ben Duckett, Abhishek Porel, Nitish Rana, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Auqib Nabi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc.
Impact Player: Dushmantha Chameera
Final Squad Size, Slots & Remaining Purse
- Total squad size: 25 players (17 retained/traded + 8 bought).
- Overseas players: Overseas players: 8 (Tristan Stubbs, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, David Miller, Ben Duckett).
- Slots strength: All 25 slots filled, so no remaining squad slots.
- Remaining purse: ₹0.35Cr
ALSO READ: Chennai Super Kings IPL 2026: Auction Buys, Full Squad & Playing XI
Code: TOPBK
