Delhi Capitals Probable Retention List Before IPL 2026 Mini-Auction: From Axar Patel to KL Rahul, Check Complete List

Before the IPL 2026 mini-auction, it is anticipated that the Delhi Capitals (DC) will keep a solid core of about 11 players to support the stability of the squad. Reports indicate that the retentions consist of Axar Patel (captain and all-rounder), KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Manvanth Kumar, and Darshan Nalkande. The organization intends to develop a well-balanced combination of old and young players to make their playoff chances stronger.

Trades and Releases

As per the reports, Delhi Capitals is going to trade with Rajasthan Royals for the return of Sanju Samson. However, DC is not going to release KL Rahul, who has been performing steadily. On the contrary, older CB players like Faf du Plessis and T. Natarajan can be let go to create a budget for the signings during the auction.

Key Areas and Tactics

 The management is centered on the issue of the middle-order strengthening, death bowling, and power-hitting all-rounders as the main drawbacks of DC in IPL 2025, where they almost made the playoffs. The official retention list is to be set up not later than November 15, 2025, with the mini-auction already planned for mid-December.