IPL Auction 2024- Top 5 players that Delhi Capitals will target in upcoming IPL Auction

Delhi Capital is one of those few teams in the IPL who have not been able to win the coveted trophy even once since the beginning of the tournament. Despite having some great players in their side from the likes of Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Glenn Mcgrath to Rishabh Pant, David Warner, and Mitchell Marsh, have managed to reach the finals of IPL only once in 2020.

The main problem with them has been their failure to maintain a group of core players in their team for a longer duration and have chopped and changed their team combination quite a few times in the past few years. We have seen in IPL history that teams that change their combination too much in IPL  more often don’t end up qualifying for the knockout stages.

But in the recent few years, Delhi have had a core of players including their skipper Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, and Anrich Nortje because of which they ended up in the qualifying stages for consecutive three years in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In this year’s auction too they would have their core intact and would like to strengthen it so that they could find the perfectly balanced squad for IPL 2024. 

Delhi has released 11 players before the auction and has a purse of Rs 28.98 Cr left in their purse with 9 slots remaining that can be filled including four overseas slots. So, here is the list of players that Delhi could target in the upcoming auctions:  

1. Daryl Mitchell

With 11 players released and most of them being middle-order players, Delhi will look to have a strong renowned middle-order batter in their middle order who could play aggressive cricket and could complement Rishabh Pant. 

Daryl Mitchell will be the perfect suit for Delhi in the middle order as we have seen in the recently concluded ODI World Cup that he is a really good player of spin and could provide the impetus they require in the middle order.

2. Travis Head

Travis Head with his stellar performances in the recent ODI World Cup and ICC Test Championship has proved that he is a big match player and could change the course of the game on his head with aggressive batting at the top and handy off spin with the ball. He is a good fielder too which makes him an excellent three-dimensional player in this format.

Ponting also revealed that he wanted Head in the 2023 IPL Auction but the deal could not happen as Head was to get married in 2023 which meant that he won’t be available for the first three weeks to which the owners didn’t agree. However, with his performances in 2023, there are high chances that Delhi Capital’s coach will go for Head this time too.

3.  Wanindu Hasaranga

Delhi will play most of their matches in Arun Jaitley Stadium, which means that Hasaranga will be one player who will be on their radar too. Given his unorthodox leg spinner and variation, he could be a menace for the batters. In addition, his batting abilities could find him playing some crucial innings in the lower middle order of any team which further pushes his case.

4.  Pat Cummins

The ODI World Cup-winning captain didn’t play the last IPL season and wasn’t very impactful either in the 2022 edition of the IPL with the ball. Nevertheless, we all what skills he possesses, and also has some hard-hitting abilities with the bat which we have already witnessed in the IPL. Cummins has already led the Delhi franchise in previous IPL editions and therefore he already has a connection with the owners which could also play in his favor.

5.  KS Bharath

KS Bharat could be a valuable backup for Rishabh Pant, offering experience as a wicketkeeper-batter who can bat at number 3 or 4. Although he hasn't dominated the T20s, his ability to anchor innings is attractive, especially with few IPL-experienced wicketkeepers available. He's a strong option for teams seeking a reliable backup or even a specialist batsman depending on the situation.