List of Delhi Capitals Retained and Released Players: DC Retains Pant, Shaw, Nortje, Axar; let go of Dhawan, Ashwin
Bengaluru, November 30th: On Tuesday the franchise window was closed to keep players for the upcoming Indian Premier League season and the eight existing IPL teams submitted their loyalty lists. A mega auction is to be held ahead of the upcoming edition of the glittering T20 league, adding two more teams to the competition. The eight franchises were allowed to keep up to four players with a maximum of 3 Indians, 2 foreign players and 2 vacant Indians. The two new franchises can acquire three from the rest of the player pool before the auction.
Delhi Capitals has named four players who are to be taken over for the upcoming edition. The Capitals let go of big names while keeping their current captains Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Anriche Nortje and Axar Patel. Former skipper Shreyas Iyer has been replaced as captain by Pant following a shoulder injury during the previous edition. There had been a knock that Iyer, who had brought Delhi 2020 to the finals, wanted to be released before the auction. Besides Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Kagiso Rabada are some of the other big names published by the Capitals.
Delhi, still fighting for its first IPL title, will have Rs. 47.50 crores remained in the wallet for the mega auction.
Rishabh Pant (Rs. 16 crores): Pant took over from Iyer, led Delhi from the front and hardly surprised him. Pant, which came into the spotlight via the IPL, is an important part of the Indian line-up in all three formats. The Capitals, who have been the most consistent over the past two seasons, will definitely benefit for the young skipper who can send the ball out of the park with ease and who is also an excellent wicket keeper. Pant was bought by Delhi in 2016 and continues to be an important part of the line-up.
Prithvi Shaw (Rs. 7.5 crores): Shaw, an exciting gamer, was key to DC's lineup. Shaw formed a deadly opening combo with Shikhar Dhawan. Although his senior team-mate was not taken on, the explosive start will bring a lot of power to the Delhi line-up again.
Axar Patel (Rs. 9 crores): Another talent that can shine through the league is the giant step in the formation of the national team. Axar Patel was a key figure in the occupation of Delhi. Under the all-rounder hat, Patel can not only destroy the opponent's line-up with the ball, but also achieve the decisive runs in the lower order.
Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.5 crores): Nortje was the fourth player to be taken over by the Capitals. The South African cricketer, who turned out to be a deadly cog in the Delhi line-up, was the only foreign player to be taken over by the franchise. For the past few years, DC has boasted an all-round roster, and Nortje's addition will make the bowling unit a strong unit.
Who published all DC: Ajinkya Rahane, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, M Siddharth, Sam Billings, Vishnu Vinod, Amit Mishra, Aveshu Khan, Ben Dwarshuis , Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, R. Ashwin, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav