IPL 2023 Auction: Delhi Capitals Predicted Retained Squad List

Rishabh Pant confirmed to lead once again as look at the best predicted retained Delhi Capitals squad players list ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction. 

Delhi Capitals, the team led by young and dynamic Rishabh Pant and Coached by Ricky Ponting shall be going into the IPL 2023 Auction with an interesting proposition. They had a good squad in IPL 2022; probably the best squad on paper. But somehow the performance wasn’t in line with the squad they had.

Delhi Capitals finished fifth in IPL 2022 points table with 14 points; marginally below Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had a win more than Delhi Capitals. However, they had the fourth-best NRR in the group stage, but given that they were a win short, they couldn’t qualify for the Playoffs.

With November 15 set as the deadline for the submission of the Retained squad, let’s look at the best-predicted squad that Delhi Capitals shall retain ahead of IPL 2023 Auction. As usual, we shall break down the squad into different categories, viz., Batters, Wickets keepers, All-rounders, and Wicket keepers.

Batters

Batters: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan & Ashwin Hebbar 

The retention philosophy shall be very simple for them. There’s no reason why they should get rid of a lot of players. Their major focus shall be on getting rid of the redundancy, and making that space available for a few potential players that they can purchase from the Auction.

From the batters’ standpoint, Delhi shall retain the likes of David Warner, Sarfaraz Khan, Ashwin Hebbar, and Prithvi Shaw. This shall give them two solid openers in the form of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw, a solid finisher, Sarfaraz Khan, and a good backup batter Ashwin Hebbar. Given the performance in 2022, Delhi Capitals are unlikely to retain Mandeep Singh.

Wicket-keepers

Keepers: Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat & Tim Seifert 

The wicket-keeper slots seem to be sorted for the Delhi Capitals. While Rishabh Pant shall be the primary wicket-keeper, overseas keeper Tim Seifert and KS Bharat shall be the backups. Overall, Delhi Capitals shall not look to add any more Wicket-keepers to their squad in the IPL 2023 Auction.

All-rounders

Main All-rounders: Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh & Rovman Powell

Backup All-rounders: Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel & Yash Dhull 

All-rounders is another area where Delhi Capitals have their base covered. They will mostly retain the likes of Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, Ripal Patel, Lalit Yadav, and Yash Dhull. This is a talented bunch of all-rounders that Delhi have got. Also, given the diversity of spin and pace bowling all-rounders, Delhi Capitals are unlikely to invest in this area.

Bowlers

Main Bowlers: Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed & Chetan Sakariya

Backup Bowlers: Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti & Vicky Ostwal

Looking at the bowling starting with spinners first, Delhi Capitals shall retain two good spinners. Kuldeep Yadav shall be the lead spinner of the squad with Vicky Ostwal as the key backup. This is in addition to Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav. Unfortunately, Delhi Capitals might not retain Pravin Dubey, and instead, look for an additional strong batter in the squad.

From the pacers’ point of view, Delhi Capitals once again have their bases covered. Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, and Chetan Sakariya shall be the primary pacers retained in the squad. In addition, Delhi Capitals shall retain key backups in the form of Mustafizur Rahman and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. The team might not retain Lungi Ngidi and Shardul Thakur given the pace diversity Delhi Capitals have got.

Shardul is definitely an asset, but the reason to leave Shardul shall be his high cost of INR 10.75 Crores. Delhi May want to rebuy him again in the Auction at a lesser price. Nevertheless, Leaving them out, Delhi Capitals will have a slot of 2 overseas and 3 Indian players and a budget of approximately 18 crores. They can easily purchase a few solid players to complete their gaps.

IPL 2023: Strongest Predicted Retained Squad for Delhi Capitals

Total Players: 20 // Purse Remaining: ~INR 17.95 Crores

Batters: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan & Ashwin Hebbar 

WKs: Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat & Tim Seifert 

All-rounders: Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel & Yash Dhull 

Bowlers: Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti & Vicky Ostwal

Thanks for reading! What’s your predicted Delhi Capitals (DC) squad players list for IPL 2023? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

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