The Delhi Capitals (DC) fell short by just a point to secure their qualification into the IPL 2025 playoffs as they finished 5th. They will be coming into the new season with renewed energy and because they have to pull-up strings in the auction. In this article, we take a look at the DC Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
The Delhi Capitals’ wait for their first ever IPL trophy under new captain Axar Patel has extended by another year. The Capitals finished 5th in the IPL 2025 points table with 15 points, just one point short of 4th placed Mumbai Indians.
It was a terrific start though winning 6 out of the first 8 matches of the season, sitting top of the table. However, they messed it up from there because of inconsistent performance and injuries to key players.
They had done a fantastic work in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, but looks like the squad is still incomplete with Harry Brook not turning-up and IPL 2024’s hero for the franchise Jake-Fraser McGurk had a total disaster season.
Now ahead of the IPL 2026 season, the Delhi Capitals have their base ready, now just need to build onto it. In this article, we have tried to predict the DC Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
Table of Contents
DC Retained Players List IPL 2026
Nitish Rana (trade in 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, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam
Delhi Capitals Released Players List 2026 IPL
Donovan Ferreira (trade out to Rajasthan Royals), Darshan Nalkande, Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sediqullah Atal.
DC Squad Analysis
Strength
- The biggest strength for the Delhi Capitals is that they have a deep batting depth. From the likes of KL Rahul, Abhishek Porel to the likes of Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel in the lower middle-order and even Vipraj Nigam has displayed that he can be great with the bat too.
- The spin bowling duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel is a major strength for the Capitals. Added to that, last Vipraj Nigam did really well too.
Areas to Improve
- With Faf du Plessis set to be released from the team, the franchise would definitely need an overseas opening or top order batter.
- Despite the great batting depth, the Delhi Capitals lack overseas all-rounders and finishers. Tristan Stubbs is a great hitter in the middle-order, but they definitely might look for a finisher.
DC Target Players 2026
| PLAYER | ROLE |
| Tim Robinson | Batter |
| Toby Albert | Batter |
| Liam Livingstone | All-rounder |
| Aaron Hardie | All-rounder |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | Pacer |
| Riley Meredith | Pacer |
| Manoj Bhandage | All-rounder |
| Gavnish Khurana | Pacer |
| Arpit Rana | Batter |
Delhi Capitals Overseas Target Players
Tim Robinson
New Zealand’s batter Tim Robinson can be an option Delhi could consider as a replacement for Faf du Plessis. He can open the inning or play in top-order. He most recently made a headline after scoring a century vs Australia. The most interesting thing about him is that he can play explosive innings but is also capable of playing longer innings.
Toby Albert
English batter can be another top order batter Delhi Capitals can consider in place of Faf du Plessis. Toby is an elegant batter and finished as the top run scorer of the T20 Blast 2025 season as he scored 633 runs in 17 innings at a strike rate of 150.00, including a standout performance in the Blast 2025 final. His performance has been steadily growing every year and can be a great DC Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
Liam Livingstone
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is likely to release English all-rounder Liam Livingstone ahead of the IPL 2026 Auction. Liam failed to live-up to the hype for RCB in their IPL 2025 winning campaign. Liam is a power-hitter who can hit the ball out of the park and also bowl spin bowling. He can be a great option for DC.
Aaron Hardie
Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie has been long thought of a potential superstar finisher down the order. However, he has been released by the Punjab Kings after not able to give him enough exposure. However, he could be an important player for Delhi Capitals. Hardie is not only a finisher, but he can also play in top 4 if needed and bowls handy medium-pace.
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Afghanistan cricket team’s pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi can be a bargain signing for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 auction. Farooqi was with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025 but didn’t have a great campaign and is set to be released by the franchise. He can be available for as low as the base price.
Riley Meredith
Australian pacer Riley Meredith is a successful pace bowler across the world, bringing in tons of experience. However, he has had a very short career in the IPL in which he has been quite good though. He has previously featured in the IPL in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and has taken 19 wickets. On bowling surfaces, he is very lethal and can be an x-factor.
DC Target Players Indian
Manoj Bhandage
To boost the All-rounders department among the Indian contingent, Delhi Capitals could at former RCB all-rounder Manoj Bhandage. Manoj is a left-hand power-hitter who is capable of batting strike rate above 200 and also a very good right-arm pace bowler.
Gavnish Khurana
The Delhi Capitals would also look to target local Delhi Premier League (DPL) players and one of the names they might target to improve their bowling unit is left-arm pacer Gavnish Khurana. The 26-year-old was one of the best bowlers in the league taking 12 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of 8.00. He has shown a great level of consistency and could definitely be a surprise element of the season in the DC campaign.
Arpit Rana
Among the batting side of things, the Delhi Capitals would definitely not want to miss out on a top talent like Arpit Rana. In DPL 2024, he scored 262 runs but was playing almost a different level in 2025 as he scored 495 runs in 10 matches, finishing as the league’s top run scorer.
DC Probable XI after IPL 2026 Auction
Abhishek Porel, Tim Robinson, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Aaron Hardie/Liam Livingstone, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Mitchell Starc.
Impact Players: Ashutosh Sharma/ T Natarajan
NOTE: This is only our prediction and the actual DC Target Players List 2026 IPL might be different.
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