India's two-time T20 World Cup-winning member Axar Patel and uncapped Ashutosh Sharma will wear no jersey other than Delhi Capitals (DC) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027. While the trade window is open for another week, DC have closed theirs after completing two trades early.
“There will be no more trades as far as Delhi Capitals are concerned,” a source told India Today.
The IPL trade rumour mill had suggested that Axar may move to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). There were also speculations that a few franchises were interested in Ashutosh, including Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT). Sports Tak can confirm that Axar and Ashutosh won’t be traded or released ahead of the IPL 2027 mini-auction.
DC have completed two trades so far. They brought back their former captain Rishabh Pant from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for Rs 15 crore, with the wicketkeeper-batter taking a Rs 12 crore pay cut. In return, they gave LSG their left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Then, they traded left-arm pacer T Natarajan to his former franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in return for wrist-spinner Zeeshan Ansari.
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Who will captain Delhi Capitals in IPL 2027?
While Axar continues to be part of DC’s core, the franchise is yet to take a call on whether he will retain the captaincy. DC’s other captaincy options are Pant and KL Rahul.
Axar has led DC in 27 games, winning 13 and losing as many, whereas one ended in no result. Pant has led DC in four seasons. From 43 games, DC have won 24 under Pant's captaincy and lost 19. Rahul has led two franchises -- Punjab Kings and LSG -- so far. From 64 games, Rahul has won 31 as captain and lost 33.
Who Axar and Ashutosh performed in IPL 2027?
In IPL 2026, Axar could manage to score just 173 runs from 11 innings, averaging 19.22 and scoring at a strike rate just over 131. He scored just one fifty in the season. The left-arm spinner took 11 wickets at an average of 32.72. Under him, DC got off to a good start in IPL 2026 but finished sixth on the points table with seven wins and as many losses from 14 games. DC have not reached the playoffs under Axar's leadership. The last time they made it to the playoffs was in 2021.
Ashutosh was slightly underused by DC in IPL 2026. He batted in eight innings and scored 171 runs at an average of 34.20 and a strike rate of 181.91. He may get a bigger role in the next season. Also, he can be handy with the ball, as he proved in his debut England Domestic One-Day Cup season for Hampshire by taking 14 wickets from seven games.
Delhi Capitals coaching revamp
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as head coach. He will have India’s legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as the batting coach. Yuvraj has helped plenty of T20 batters, including India’s hard-hitting opener Abhishek Sharma and ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill.
Their pace-bowling coach is former Sri Lankan left-arm pacer Chaminda Vaas. The spin attack will be coached by former Indian left-arm spinner Amit Mishra. Yuvraj and Mishra have represented the Delhi franchise during their IPL career.
Delhi Capitals’ squad ahead of retention deadline -
Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul (wk), Sahil Parakh, 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, Abishek Porel, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Pathum Nissanka, Auqib Nabi Dar, Rehan Ahmed.
Players traded in – Rishabh Pant and Zeeshan Ansari.
Players released – Kuldeep Yadav and T Natarajan.
Question mark over Mitchell Starc
DC may miss the services of their star Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc in IPL 2027. Starc has often talked about prioritising Test cricket over T20 franchise leagues. Starc has a busy summer ahead with New Zealand Test series, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2027 in India, and the MCG 150th anniversary Test. After the IPL 2027, there is the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 final if Australia qualify. Then, Australia will tour England for The Ashes 2027, followed by the ODI World Cup 2027. The veteran left-arm pacer is highly likely to consider international cricket over the IPL, something which he has done for a large part of his career.
If Starc is unavailable for IPL 2027, DC will need a prominent overseas fast-bowling option. Apart from Lungi Ngidi, their pace attack looks weak. Mukesh Kumar and debutant Auqib Nabi were not impressive last season. Kyle Jamieson looked promising in patches, whereas Dushmantha Chameera couldn’t justify his place in the side. The only silver lining was all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, who was backed towards the later stages of the tournament.
What do DC need in the IPL 2027 mini-auction?
DC need to revamp their bowling attack. With Kuldeep’s departure, Ansari is one option. Vipraj Nigam and Axar can contribute with spin too, but they need a wicket-taking option or someone who can stem the flow of runs. There is a possibility that DC may release a few pacers ahead of the IPL mini-auction.
DC may go after someone like West Indies captain Shai Hope. The wicketkeeper-batter was in sensational form in the five-T20I series against India, featuring two centuries. Hope has represented DC before. He made his IPL debut in the DC jersey in the 2024 edition. He was roped in for a base price of Rs 75 lakh. He scored 183 runs from nine innings at an average of 22.87 and a strike rate of 150. He could not score a fifty in his debut IPL season. But this time, Hope is expected to start a bidding war in the mini-auction. Considering the buzz around his name, he is likely to register at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore.
The picture will be clear on November 17, the deadline to announce the list of retained players. The IPL 2027 mini-auction will take place in Goa on December 16.