Delhi Capitals had an unlucky season last year. They finished at the top of the points table in the league stage but unfortunately, they were not able to taste their maiden IPL trophy as they lost to CSK and KKR in qualifier 1 and qualifier 2 respectively. For the last three seasons, this Delhi-based franchise makes a habit to enter the playoffs. Shreyas Iyer was one of the reasons behind the success of the Capitals after he took the captaincy from Gautam Gambhir in 2018 but last season there is a negotiation held between team management and their skipper as they could not retain him. In this article we will take a look on Delhi Capitals IPL 2022 Mega Auction strategy.
Delhi Capitals retained players 2022
🚨 DELHI CAPITALS’ RETENTIONS 🚨
Pause what you’re doing and have a look at the DC Tigers who aren’t going anywhere 💙
Read More 👉🏼 https://t.co/1b1s0awcrw#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPLRetention pic.twitter.com/FEOplhKUdh
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 30, 2021
For the next season, Delhi Capitals retained Rishabh Pant(16 cr), who was appointed as captain of this franchise last year in the second leg in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, along with opener Prithvi Shaw (7.5 cr), promising Indian all-rounder Axar Patel(9 cr) and South African speed star Anrich Nortje(6.5 cr).
Delhi Capitals Auction strategy 2022
They have the remaining 51 cr pursue in hand to select players in the mega auction. It will be interesting to see which players DC team management will give their attention in the auction ahead of IPL 2022.
Delhi Capitals target players – Batsmen
Delhi Capitals released such big names from big names like Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmeyer, and Australian Steve Smith. There is a high chance that they will bid for Shikhar Dhawan ahead of next season. This left-handed batter did exceptionally well for this franchise for the last few seasons and he was in the top 5 run-getter last season. Other than him DC team management might bid for south African Wicket Keeper batsman Quinton De Kock. De Kock can open the innings and keep the wicket in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
As far as the middle order is concerned they have a lot of options in their hands like- Saurabh Tiwary, Rahul Tripathi, Manis Pandey, and Shah Rukh Khan. . This Tamilnadu batsman will be a vital addition to the CSK middle order. Last year he made his IPL debut in PBKS jersey where he smashed 153 runs with the strike rate of 134.21. They might bring back Shimron Hetmeyer in their squad. This Windies star Shimron Hetmeyer was part of DC last year where he scored 242 runs in 13 games at an average of 34.57
Delhi Capitals target players – Wicket-keeper
As their skipper Rishabh Pant is already in the squad, they might not invest much money on another wicket-keeper but looking forward to a backup wicket-keeper batsman they might target KS Bharat. KS Bharat was a part of RCB last season where he played exceptionally well with some match-winning runs. His performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 is also notable.
Delhi Capitals target players – All-rounders
DC might go for veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for this spot. He was released by KKR last year where he scored 47 runs in just 8 innings and also picked 4 wickets. He performed also in the ICC World T20. If they will unable to purchase him, they might go for Washington Sundar. Sundar has a fine ability to pick up wickets at the right moment with excellent economy. Mitchell Marsh might be their other choice as he can bat at no.3 with he can bowl some overs. He was one of the heroes for Australia in the final of World T20 2021.
Delhi Capitals target players – Bowlers
DC had a balanced bowling unit last year with Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, and veteran leggie Amit Mishra but ahead of next season, they managed to retain only one of them – Nortje. There is a high chance that they will purchase back them to keep the consistency but if they are unable to do then they would go for further options to replace them. As a replacement for Kagiso Rabada, they might target Kiwi seamer, Lockie Ferguson. Lockie picked up 94 wickets in 84 matches with an average of 23.15 and economy of just 7.55. He can continuously deliver the ball with a speed of 140+kmph. As a replacement for veteran Amit Mishra, they might target young leggie Ravi Bishnoi. Bishnoi was a part of PBKS for the last few seasons. Last year he picked up 12 wickets in just 9 games at an average of 18.50 and an economy of 6.34. Andrew Tye might be another target in the mega auction to make a strong seam bowling unit. He was a part of the Rajasthan-based franchise last season but he did not get much opportunity to show off. In 2018 he was Purple Cap Holder as he picked up 24 wickets.
