The Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals roped in nine players on the first day of mega auction for the IPL 2022 including six Indian and three overseas players. On the second day of the mega auction Delhi Capitals signed Mandeep Singh (Rs 1.1 crore), Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 5.25 crore) and Chetan Sakariya (Rs 4.2 crore). India's U-19 World Cup-winning skipper Yash Dhull, on the other hand, was roped in by the Capitals for an amount of Rs 50 lakh.
They went big for only one player in the form of Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Otherwise, they kept a low profile in the auction and did not engage in a bidding war for last season's player after a certain extent.
Players signed at mega auction
Delhi Capitals splurged the most amount of money for Indian all-rounder Thakur. The fast-bowling all-rounder was roped in for Rs 10.75 crore by the Delhi-based franchise.
David Warner returned to the franchise after a long gap of eight years as DC got former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper for a fair price of Rs 6.25 crore. They also went after Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and acquired his services for Rs 6.5 crore.
DC strengthened their bowling lineup as they landed Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav for Rs 2 crore, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 2 crore and uncapped Kamlesh Nagarkoti for Rs 1.1 crore.
They got their wicketkeeper-batter in the form of Srikar Bharat for Rs 2 crore. They also got uncapped batters Sarfaraz Khan and Ashwin Hebbar for their base price of Rs 20 lakh each.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
David Warner – Rs 6.25 Crore
Mitchell Marsh – Rs 6.50 Crore
Shardul Thakur – Rs 10.75 Crore
Mustafizur Rahman – Rs 2 Crore
Kuldeep Yadav – Rs 2 Crore
Ashwin Hebbar – Rs 20 Lakh
Sarfaraz Khan – Rs 20 Lakh
Kamlesh Nagarkoti – Rs 1.1 Crore
Srikar Bharat – Rs 2 Crore
Tim Seifert- Rs 50 lakh
Mandeep Singh- Rs 1.1 crore
Khaleel Ahmed- Rs 5.25 crore
Chetan Sakariya- Rs 4.2 crore
Lalit Yadav- Rs 65 lakh
Ripal Patel- Rs 20 lakh
Yash Dhull- Rs 50 lakh
Rovman Powell- Rs 2.8 crore
Pravin Dubey- Rs 50 lakh
Lungi Ngidi- Rs 50 lakh
Vicky Ostwal- Rs 20 lakh
Retained players
Rishabh Pant
Axar Patel
Anrich Nortje
Prithvi Shaw
Players retained by Delhi Capitals
DC had chosen to retain Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant (Rs 16 crore), Indian all-rounder Axar Patel (Rs 9 crore), Indian batsman Prithvi Shaw (Rs 7.5 crore) and South African pacer Anrich Nortje (Rs 6.5 crore) and had an aim to build a squad around these young stars. Ahead of the 2022 mega auction DC had Rs 47.50 crore left in their purse.
Taking over from Shreyas Iyer, Pant led Delhi from the front and retaining him hardly surprised anyone.
Pant, who came to the spotlight via IPL, is a key part of the Indian line-up in all three formats.
On the other hand, Axar has also carved out a prominent place for himself in the DC squad. Donning the all-rounder's hat, Axar, can not only wreck the opposition line-up with the ball, but can also score crucial runs in the lower order. Nortje, on the other hand, too proved his prowess with the bowl and was the only overseas player retained by the franchise.
Over the last few years, DC have produced a strong all round squad, and Nortje's addition has made the bowling unit pretty stronger.
Among the big names DC released were Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada.
