They had multiple steal deals at the mini auction.
Delhi Capitals was arguably the best performing team at IPL 2026 auction that took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. They had made some questionable decisions ahead of the auction but have managed to build a strong DC squad for the next season.
The franchise went into the mini auction with a budget of INR 21.8 crore with a maximum of eight spots to fill. They made a great use of their purse and other franchises’ blunders to plug the holes in their squad for the next season.
Delhi Capitals made some smart decisions in the mini auction, acquiring Ben Duckett, David Miller, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, and Kyle Jamieson among others.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are so ready for this 🤌🔥 pic.twitter.com/WFekdr4MGx
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) December 17, 2025
Take a look at the full DC squad for IPL 2026:
Axar Patel (captain), KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijaya, Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan, Nitish Rana, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, and Kyle Jamieson.
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After releasing Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, and trading out Donovan Ferreira to Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals needed to fill a couple of key spots in the mini auction. They needed to find a quality overseas opener and a lower middle order batter. Here are three smart picks that bolstered the Delhi Capitals batting line-up.
DC couldn’t have asked for a better solution to their opening woes than Duckett. They secured him for a base price of INR 2 crore to the surprise of many. The Englishman is among the best opening batters in the world, with an ability to take on both pace and spin. He has been a consistent performer in the shorter format over the last couple of years. In Duckett, DC found a proven opener without burning their budget.
Before Duckett, Delhi Capitals made a shockingly steal deal by buying Miller for the base price. The South African is going through a rough patch and saw quite a fall in his stocks. When other teams didn’t see much value, DC latched on to the opportunity. They managed to recover from their Ferreira blunder by signing Miller.
The former Delhi Capitals star went unsold in the initial round but the franchise raised a bid for him in the accelerated round. He will be part of the DC squad for IPL 2026 at INR 75 lakhs. Shaw will most likely be a backup but adds depth to the already stacked line-up.
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