Delhi Capitals IPL 2026 Retentions: Full List Of Retained And Released Players, Purse Remaining

Delhi Capitals (DC) have been one of the quieter teams in the trade window, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 retentions announcement. DC's biggest move perhaps comes in who they have kept, rather than who they have let go of, managing to retain star wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul despite heavy interest from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Axar Patel-led side have traded in former KKR captain Nitish Rana from Rajasthan Royals (RR), while South African wicket-keeper batter Donovan Ferreira has gone the other way.

Delhi have released two high-profile overseas stars, in the form of openers Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk. The release of Fraser-McGurk frees up Rs 9 crore for the IPL 2026 mini auction.

Delhi Capitals have also kept South African finisher Tristan Stubbs, who was initially linked to RR in a trade move. 

The franchise have retained left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, emerging all-rounder Vipraj Nigam, and young batters Abishek Porel and Ashutosh Sharma, who all shone for the team in different phases in IPL 2025.

Delhi Capitals' most surprising retention comes in the form of pacer T Natarajan, who has been kept despite his high pricetag (Rs 10.75 crore) and the fact that he only played one game in the previous season.

Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera have also been retained, keeping DC's pace battery intact. 

Experienced pacer Mohit Sharma has been released, after picking up only two wickets in eight games for DC in IPL 2025.

DC will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of Rs 21.80 crore, with overseas batting likely to be their priority.

Players Retained: Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera

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

Players Traded In: Nitish Rana (from Rajasthan Royals)

Players Traded Out: Donovan Ferreira (to Rajasthan Royals)

AUCTION BUDGET: Rs 21.80 crore

Topics mentioned in this article

Delhi Capitals Axar Patel KL Rahul Kuldeep Yadav IPL 2026 Cricket Faf Du Plessis Jake Fraser-McGurk Nitish Rana Mitchell Starc Vipraj Nigam T Natarajan