IPL 2025 Auction, day 2: Delhi Capitals bolster squad with Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar in first session

New Delhi [India], November 25 (ANI): Delhi Capitals acquired top players in the first session of Day 2 of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis at Rs 2 crore became the Delhi Capitals' first purchase of the day, while India pacer Mukesh Kumar was retained for Rs 8 crore using the RTM card.
A two-time IPL winner with the Chennai Super Kings, du Plessis has scored an impressive 4,571 runs in 145 matches, including 37 half-centuries in the tournament. The Proteas batter led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the playoffs in the previous season.
Kumar, on the other hand, made his IPL debut with the Delhi Capitals in 2023, when he picked up seven wickets in 10 matches. He went on to make his debut for Team India in all three formats in the same year. The pacer had a successful outing in the previous season, scalping 17 wickets in 10 matches.
Speaking about the buys, Venugopal Rao, Director of Cricket, Delhi Capitals (IPL) said, "This time, our batting and bowling is very compact. Our bowling lineup is experienced. We have strengthened our fast bowling with Starc, Natarajan, Mohit and Mukesh, who are all experienced. They will combine with our spinners Axar and Kuldeep, so our bowling lineup is very experienced. Batters will win matches for us, but bowlers will win us the title."
On acquiring IPL veteran du Plessis, Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket, Delhi Capitals (WPL) and JSW Sports, said, "He has been very good in this (T20) format. He had a terrific CPL and MLC. Another part of Faf's ability is the leadership, so we are extremely happy and surprised that we got him for this amount."
Players acquired on Day 2 of the IPL 2025 mega auction:
1. Faf du Plessis (South Africa) - Batter - Rs 2 crore
2. Mukesh Kumar (India) - Bowler - Rs 8 crore. (ANI)