Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs among 17 players retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2026 auction

New Delhi [India], November 15 (ANI): Delhi Capitals (DC) today announced their list of retained and released players ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, set to take place later this year. The Delhi-based franchise has retained a total of 17 players, as per a release from DC.

Following comprehensive evaluations and discussions, Delhi Capitals have decided to release Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Sediqullah Atal, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar and Darshan Nalkande.

The players retained by the franchise from their last season's fifth-place finish include Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc and Tristan Stubbs, among others. Delhi Capitals have also roped in Nitish Rana in a trade for Donovan Ferreira, who moves to Rajasthan Royals ahead of the auction.
The team will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of Rs 21.8 crore.

Speaking on the development, Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Chairman and co-owner, Delhi Capitals, said, "We had a promising campaign last season, the team showed great quality and spirit, even though we narrowly missed out on the playoffs. The auction provides us with an opportunity to strengthen areas where we fell short and build a more balanced squad around the players we have retained. Our coaching team and scouting network have worked extensively to identify the right talent to add to the group. My best wishes to all the players as we gear up for an exciting auction," as quoted from a release by DC.

Parth Jindal, co-owner, Delhi Capitals and founder, JSW Sports said, "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 those players who can complement our core group. We're looking forward to the auction and building a strong team for the season ahead."

Hemang Badani, head coach, Delhi Capitals, expressed, "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. The goal is to build consistency and ensure we're competing at our best throughout the season."

List of Retained Players: 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, Nitish Rana (traded in)

Released Players: Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Sediqullah Atal, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira (traded out). (ANI)