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Delhi Capitals (DC) have let go of Hemang Badani and appointed Sourav Ganguly as new head coach ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 mini-auction. Ganguly, who has been DC's mentor from IPL 2019 until he became the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, will take on the mantle to help the franchise win their maiden IPL title. The switch comes after JSW Sports took control of the franchise as part of the two-year cycle arrangement with co-owners GMR Sports India.
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“I am looking forward to take on the role of Head Coach in the IPL. Delhi Capitals is a franchise very close to my heart, and one that I have shared a strong relationship with over the years," Ganguly said.
"I have worked closely with the owners, management, support staff and players, which makes this an exciting responsibility for me. We have a talented group and have played a good brand of cricket in the recent past. I am looking forward to working with the squad, the new season, and building a strong and fearless team."
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Ganguly has been a part of DC for a long time. He also took over the duties of head coach their SA20 side Pretoria Capitals in 2025. In addition, he has worked with the DC side in Women's Premier League (WPL) as well. He was the Director of Cricket for DC’s men and women’s team after his tenure as BCCI president came to an end.
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“Dada is and has always been an integral part of the Delhi Capitals family. I am incredibly proud and honoured to announce that one of the greatest Indian captains and administrators is now stepping into coaching by taking over as the head coach of the Delhi Capitals. I am excited to see him take on this role and I’m sure that under his guidance and visionary leadership Delhi Capitals will be best prepared to challenge for the IPL title. I cannot wait for all our players and staff to learn from Dada and am looking forward to seeing DC in action at the earliest,” DC chairman and co-owner, JSW sports Founder Parth Jindal said.
Ganguly-Yuvraj duo at DC
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is set to join his former captain Ganguly at the DC franchise. An official announcement is yet to be made but Yuvraj is likely to take the role of batting coach at the franchise.
DC and Punjab Kings (PBKS) are two franchises who are yet to win an IPL title. DC have reached an IPL final only once in 2020 under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. In the next season, they reached the playoffs by finishing at the top of the points table in Rishabh Pant’s leadership. Then, DC had to let go of Iyer to keep Pant as captain. Eventually Pant left and DC couldn’t rope him in at mega auction as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) snapped him up with a record bid.
Ganguly and Yuvraj will have a herculean task to help DC make it to playoffs after five consecutive seasons. They have often squandered good starts and lost the playoffs seat at crucial stages.
It is yet to be seen whether any of the members of the previous coaching staff — Venugopal Rao (team director), Munaf Patel (bowling coach) and Ian Bell (assistant coach) — is retained.
Team news ahead of IPL 2027 mini-auction
DC have already brought back their former captain Pant back to the side. The wicketkeeper-batter agreed for a price cut and has joined his former franchise for a revised fee of Rs 15 crore. He was roped in for Rs 27 crore by LSG. But, in doing so, they had to trade left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav to LSG for Rs 13.5 crore.
Also, DC have quashed the rumours about KL Rahul’s departure. DC’s leading run-scorer in last two seasons, Rahul is expected to stay at the franchise.
It is yet to be seen whether Axar Patel retains captaincy or Pant returns as leader. Reportedly, Pant does not intend to captain the DC side and Axar is likely to continue.
The immediate challenge for Ganguly
The DC side lacks a dependable middle order and a pace-bowling lineup that doesn’t leak fours and sixes at a rapid rate. DC are unlikely to retain T Natarajan who managed just five wickets from 10 games and conceded runs at 11.18 runs per over. Natarajan's departure will free up their purse by Rs 10.75 crore. Lungi Ngidi was their top performer with the ball whereas Kyle Jamieson made contributions too. Dushmantha Chameera may be shown the door along with Rehan Ahmed who did not make his IPL debut as Ben Duckett's replacement.
It is yet to be seen whether Mitchell Starc commits to playing the whole season considering the Ashes 2027 starts right after. Also, the WTC final is from June 9 to 13. DC wouldn't want themselves short of a key player if Starc decides to manage his workload. Roping in for Rs 8.40 crore, red-ball specialist Auqib Nabi was underwhelming in his debut IPL season as he remained wicketless in five outings for DC. Also, with Kuldeep leaving, DC need a specalist spinner apart from Axar.
Tristan Stubbs may stay alongside David Miller with the squad as the South African duo often bailed their team out from tough situations. While Miller was a steal at base price of Rs 2 crore, releasing Stubbs may free up their purse. But, if other franchises show interest in him, they won’t have the right to match (RTM) option to exercise in the mini-auction.
The picture will be clear by November 15 which is the retention deadline. The IPL 2027 mini-auction is set to take place in the second week of December in Goa where DC would look to rebuild their squad with plenty in the purse.
Delhi Capitals’ current squad -
Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wk), Sahil Parakh, Axar Patel (c), Rishabh Pant. Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Vipraj Nigam, Prithvi Shaw, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Pathum Nissanka, Auqib Nabi Dar, Rehan Ahmed.
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