The player auction for the 19th edition of the IPL will be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16. With the departure of explosive Australian batsmen Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis, Delhi Capitals left without reliable openers. With only three foreign players in the team, DC will need to prioritize acquiring multiple foreign players in different roles rather than relying on one major player.

For which players Delhi Capitals can use their money in IPL 2026 auction?

With a purse of ₹21.80 crore, Delhi can sign eight players, five of whom will be foreigners. The decision to release both their openers on the day of the retention deadline has left a clear void at the top. One possibility for the upcoming

Delhi Capitals can target these 5 players:

Delhi Capitals can target Ben Duckett, David Miller, Jacob Duffy, Mathisha Pathirana and Matthew Ford in the IPL auction.

Delhi Capitals lack batsmen who can set the tempo at the top. KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel prefer to pace their innings, which often deprives Delhi of early momentum. Duckett provides exactly what they need. The left-handed player is a proactive starter who uses the powerplay well and can put pressure on the opposition in the first six overs.

Miller is one of the most reliable finishers
David Miller is one of the most reliable finishers in the IPL, with a wealth of experience and a track record of winning matches. Delhi has been looking for a reliable player in the lower order for a long time, and Miller fills that need. Jacob Duffy’s recent white-ball performance against New Zealand makes him a good option for Delhi.

In the fifth T20 against the West Indies, he took 4 wickets for 35 runs, including three wickets in a single over, and destroyed the top order with his pace and accuracy. He dismissed Shai Hope, Akeem Auguste, and Sherfane Rutherford, demonstrating his ability to take wickets quickly.

Delhi Capitals retained players: Nitish Rana (traded from Rajasthan Royals), Abhishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mukesh Kumar.

Released players: Donovan Ferreira (South Africa) – traded to Rajasthan Royals, Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Jake Fraser-McGrueck (Australia), Sediqullah Atal (Afghanistan), Manwant Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande.