The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction was held in Abu Dhabi on December 16, with 369 players available for franchises to strengthen their squads. Delhi Capitals (DC) took an aggressive approach at the auction, focusing heavily on bolstering their batting depth while also adding key bowling reinforcements.
DC signed eight players at the auction and exhausted their available slots, leaving themselves with a near-zero purse balance.
Leadership group at Delhi Capitals for IPL 2026
Delhi Capitals head into IPL 2026 with a strong Indian core led by KL Rahul, alongside experienced campaigners such as Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mitchell Starc. The acquisition of Nitish Rana via trade before the auction further strengthened DC’s leadership and top-order stability.
What Delhi Capitals did at the IPL 2026 auction
Delhi Capitals entered the auction with a clear objective — add firepower to the batting unit. Of the eight players signed, five were specialist batters or batting all-rounders, underlining DC’s intent to address their middle-order inconsistency from previous seasons.
The headline signings included David Miller and Ben Duckett, both proven T20 batters, while Prithvi Shaw was brought back to add explosiveness at the top. DC also invested in youth and domestic form by signing Auqib Nabi, one of the most talked-about uncapped Indian pacers this season.
On the bowling front, DC added experience with Lungi Ngidi and Kyle Jamieson, providing depth and flexibility to their pace attack, while Pathum Nissanka adds top-order insurance across conditions.
Players bought by Delhi Capitals at the IPL 2026 auction
David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson.
DC auction summary
- Purse remaining: Rs. 0.35 crore
- Player slots remaining: 0
- Overseas slots remaining: 0
Delhi Capitals retained players before the auction
Nitish Rana (traded from Rajasthan Royals), Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam.
Delhi Capitals full squad for IPL 2026
Nitish Rana, Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson.
Squad outlook
Delhi Capitals appear to have assembled one of their most batting-heavy squads in recent seasons. With experienced internationals like KL Rahul, David Miller, and Ben Duckett complemented by young Indian talent and a potent pace attack led by Mitchell Starc, DC enter IPL 2026 with renewed balance and depth across departments.
