Delhi Capitals (DC) have announced their retained and released players ahead of the mini-auction. While they didn’t release too many big names, they still have a good amount of money available for the auction. DC made some strong signings that helped them start the 2025 IPL season really well, but they couldn’t keep that form in the second half. They kept losing matches and finally ended up in 5th place, just one point behind Mumbai Indians in the playoff race.
The team is likely to be led by Axar Patel, who was appointed as the captain last season. He has been a vital player for India in all three formats. There is much talk that Delhi might also release KL Rahul, the team’s top run-getter last season, while a clear signal in that direction could be a trade. But the Capitals have quashed that speculation by retaining him in the squad. They also retained their big signings such as Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar and even T. Natarajan who hardly played matches in the last season.
Middle-Order Issues Hurt DC in IPL 2025
Delhi Capitals (DC) released both their openers Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk and this boosted their purse by a massive ₹11 crore. They have also let go off the expensive Mohit Sharma. DC was good in a lot of things last season, but it had a serious problem with the bat. After KL Rahul, nobody was consistent and that hit them very hard. Rahul was moved around the batting order too, but even then they didn’t have a proper middle-order player they could trust.
DC addressed that problem by bringing in Nitish Rana, who moved from UP to Delhi at the domestic level and was traded in from Rajasthan Royals. Rana is a robust middle-order batter, and his inclusion should also provide for KL Rahul to fill in as an opening option – possibly alongside Abhishek Porel. Rana also brings a much-needed power hitter in the middle order hat was missing from their side last season. DC ended 2025 in 5th position on the table, with a total of 15 points from their 14 games – 7 wins, 6 losses and 1 no-result, and an NRR of +0.011.
DC IPL 2026 Retained Players
| Player Name | Nationality |
|---|---|
| Axar Patel | Indian |
| KL Rahul | Indian |
| Karun Nair | Indian |
| Abishek Porel | Indian |
| Tristan Stubbs | South African |
| Sameer Rizvi | Indian |
| Ashutosh Sharma | Indian |
| Vipraj Nigam | Indian |
| Ajay Mandal | Indian |
| Tripurana Vijay | Indian |
| Madhav Tiwari | Indian |
| Mitchell Starc | Australian |
| T Natarajan | Indian |
| Mukesh Kumar | Indian |
| Dushmantha Chameera | Sri Lankan |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Indian |
| Nitish Rana | Indian |
DC IPL 2026 Released Players
| Player Name | Nationality | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mohit Sharma | Indian | Rs 2.20 crore |
| Faf du Plessis | South African | Rs 2.00 crore |
| Sediqullah Atal | Afghan | 1.25 crore |
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | Australian | Rs 2.00 crore |
| Manvanth Kumar | Indian | Rs 30 Lakh |
| Darshan Nalkande | Indian | Rs 30 Lakh |
| Donovan Ferreira | South African | Rs 75 Lakh |
DC IPL 2026 Traded Players
| Player Name | Move | Trade From/To |
|---|---|---|
| Donovan Ferreira | OUT | DC to RR |
| Nitish Rana | IN | RR to DC |
DC IPL 2026 Auction Purse
Delhi Capitals remaining purse: ₹21.8 Cr (approx.)
Top 5 Target Players for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 Mini-Auction
- Ben Duckett – Aggressive opener from England; unsold in IPL 2025, strong T20I and Test performances.
- Andre Russell – Explosive West Indies all-rounder; middle-order finisher, death-over specialist.
- Moeen Ali – England all-rounder; adds batting depth and off-spin bowling.
- Cameron Green – Australian all-rounder; top-tier bat and ball option, likely expensive.
- Liam Livingstone – England all-rounder; middle-order batter with spin bowling skills, budget-friendly alternative.
Code: TOPBK
