New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS) Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani explained the difficult decision behind releasing Faf du Plessis, stating that it was not easy to part ways with the South African, who has been a star performer in the IPL, but “it was time to focus on the younger players.”

Faf, who has participated in 12 IPL seasons and only missed the 2013 edition since beginning his career in 2012, was one of the seven players DC released ahead of the mini auction. The 41-year-old batter later opted out of the 19th edition of the league, announcing that he’ll ‘take on a new challenge’ and compete in the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

“It’s never easy to release a player of Faf du Plessis’ calibre. Letting him go was a really tough decision because he has been a stellar performer in the IPL for many years. But we felt it was time to move towards a younger option, someone who could bring a more aggressive style that fits the brand of cricket we want to play,” Badani said on JioStar.

Faf has scored 4,773 runs at an average of 35.09 for four franchises: Chennai Super Kings (2012 to 2015 and 2018-2021), Rising Pune Supergiant (2016-2017), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2022-2024), and Delhi Capitals (2025), and has won the tournament twice with CSK.

The other most high-profile release from the DC squad was Australian international Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was signed in 2024 as a player for the future. His intent-driven batting, which scored 222 runs off just 81 deliveries, was DC’s highlight at the end of the season.

Fraser-McGurk was later bought back through the right-to-match card ahead of IPL 2025, where he scored five single-digit runs in six matches. His total of 55 runs included a top score of 38 before he was benched.

Reflecting on the decision to release the young Aussie, Badani added, “We backed him based on how he performed last season, but at nine crore, we didn’t feel we got enough value from that investment. So, we felt it was best to let him go as well. Overall, we are quite pleased with the squad we have right now.”

–IANS

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