New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) The Delhi Capitals on Saturday confirmed a 17-member retained core while parting ways with several big names, including Mohit Sharma and Faf du Plessis, as the franchise announced its player list ahead of the IPL 2026 auction scheduled later this year.

After finishing fifth last season and narrowly missing out on the playoffs, the team opted for continuity at the top while making decisive calls on experience and overseas balance.

Apart from Mohit and du Plessis, Delhi have released Sediqullah Atal, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, and Darshan Nalkande. Donovan Ferreira has also exited the squad as part of a trade deal with the Rajasthan Royals that brings Nitish Rana to Delhi.

The Capitals have retained their leadership and core performers, including Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, and Tristan Stubbs. Young talents such as Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, and Vipraj Nigam have also been backed, signalling the franchise’s intention to develop a stable, long-term group.

Speaking on the retention strategy, franchise chairman and co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi said the team’s near-miss in IPL 2025 offered clarity on what needed to be strengthened.

“We had a promising campaign last season. The team showed great quality and spirit, even though we narrowly missed out on the playoffs,” Grandhi said. “The auction gives us an opportunity to strengthen the areas where we fell short and build a more balanced squad around the players we have retained.”

Co-owner Parth Jindal echoed those sentiments, emphasising Delhi’s confidence in the retained group. “We are pleased with the players we’ve retained – we saw how well they performed together, especially in the first half of last season. Our coaches and scouts have been working tirelessly to identify players who can complement our core group,” Jindal said.

Head coach Hemang Badani highlighted the team’s need for consistency through the season and the chance to plug key gaps through the auction. “Last season had its highs and lows. We played some really good cricket but fell just short of a playoff spot. We know the areas that need strengthening, and the auction will allow us to make those fine adjustments around the group we have retained,” Badani said.

Delhi Capitals’ retained players:

Retained: Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, and Nitish Rana.

Released: Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Sediqullah Atal, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira

–IANS

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