Delhi Capitals have zeroed in on their retentions ahead of the 2025 edition of the IPL and a mega auction preceding it. Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain last year, has been handed the top retention by the GMR-managed Delhi Capitals with Rishabh Pant being released on expected lines. It was as surprising as it could be when Delhi Capitals decided to pull the plug on Pant when the reports first made the headlines, however, unless any last-minute changes, the former captain of the franchise was going to go to the auction pool.
Apart from Axar, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, South African hard-hitting all-rounder Tristan Stubbs and uncapped wicketkeeper batter Abishek Porel are among four retentions for the Capitals. The Capitals have still given themselves around INR 75 crore from the total of INR 120 crore purse for the mega auction with a couple of RTM options.
Harry Brook, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Rasikh Salam and obviously Pant are some of the options, the Capitals can bet on to buy back through RTM.
The Capitals after a poor start last season, made a heroic comeback to be in the running for a spot in the playoffs before missing out on NRR in the end to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). With the new coaching staff in place in Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao, respectively with GMR set to control the operations, Delhi will also be eyeing a captain, if they are not able to get back Pant, which is most likely to happen.
DC's retention list - Axar Patel (16.5 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs (10 crore), Abishek Porel (4 crore)
Players released by DC: Rishabh Pant, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lungi Ngidi, Harry Brook, Lizaad Williams, Gulbadin Naib, Mitchell Marsh, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Khaleel Ahmed, Vicky Ostwal, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Salam, Sumit Kumar, Swastik Chhikara, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Jhye Richardson, Shai Hope
