One of the most exciting franchises in the recent past, Delhi Capitals further strengthened their quad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction, making some smart buys. The Rishabh Pant-led side went for the likes of uncapped India bowler Mukesh Kumar (Rs 5.50 crore), Phil Salt (Rs 2 crore), Ishant Sharma (Rs 50 lakh) in the auction. Delhi Capitals is another franchise that showed a lot of common sense in their picks. Mukesh Kumar was a net bowler with the franchise last season and is now playing regularly for India A. With his ability to pitch the ball up, he can be a good Powerplay option during the later stage of the tournament.
But the bargain buy certainly was Englishman Phil Salt, who had blasted the Pakistani bowlers during the T20 away series few weeks before the T20 Word Cup in Australia. At Rs 2 crore, it couldn't have been better. Ishant Sharma at base price isn't bad bargain either as his experience at times can come handy.
Towards the end of the auction, Delhi also roped in South Africa's Rilee Rossow. With him and Manish Pandey in the side, the franchise has added plenty of steel to their fragile middle-order.
Delhi Capitals Full Squad:
Players Bought in IPL 2023 Auction: Rilee Rossouw (INR 4.6 crore), Manish Pandey (INR 2.4 crore), Mukesh Kumar (INR 5.5 crore), Ishant Sharma (INR 50 lakh), Phil Salt (INR 2 crore)
Players Retained: Rishabh Pant (c), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal.
With PTI inputs