Although they have been excellent in recent seasons, Delhi Capitals have largely been an underwhelming unit in the history of IPL. Until IPL 2019, DC was able to reach the playoffs only on three occasions. A large credit for this display is down to the management’s poor strategies behind retaining and releasing cricketers. In fact, a few of the players whom Delhi have released have gone on and captained other sides in IPL. In this article, we take a look at five popular players released by Delhi Capitals who later went on to captain a different side in IPL.
1) Gautam Gambhir – Kolkata Knight Riders
Gautam Gambhir is one of the most popular names in this list of players released by Delhi Capitals, who later went on to captain a different side in IPL. Across his first stint with the team and then his comeback in 2018, Gambhir captained a total of 25 games. It is in between that he created a legacy of his own as an IPL skipper.
For IPL 2011, KKR sanctioned a project with Gambhir at the helm. The southpaw did not disappoint as he led the franchise in 122 games and won 69 out of them. Importantly, he led the franchise to two IPL championships in the stint.
2) David Warner – Sunrisers Hyderabad
Both Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner belong to this list of players released by Delhi Capitals who later went on to captain a different side in IPL. Shikhar and Warner both became the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, it was Warner who went on to have a better record and hence, we have him on this list.
Apart from turning out to become a terrific batsman, Warner was also brilliant in his captaincy skills for SRH. In 2016, under the Aussie’s leadership, the franchise won the IPL trophy. However, in IPL 2021, Warner was sacked from captaincy. Hence, his journey with SRH is all but over. Warner also captained Delhi in two games.
3) Dinesh Karthik – Kolkata Knight Riders
Dinesh Karthik had two stints at Delhi Capitals. In the first three seasons, DK was the team’s wicket-keeper and he came back for one more campaign in 2014. While he was decent in the former stint, in the latest one, he did struggle. Hence, he was released on two occasions by Delhi.
Similar to Gambhir, DK went to KKR to become the team’s skipper in 2018. However, unlike Gambhir, DK did not find success. He was KKR’s captain for 37 games before he gave up the responsibility to Eoin Morgan. The Tamil Nadu player is still an important part of the setup, though. DK also captained Delhi in six encounters.
4) Glenn Maxwell – Punjab Kings
Virender Sehwag, Mayank Agarwal and Glenn Maxwell both belong to the category of players who were released by Delhi and then went on to captain the Punjab Kings. However, while Viru and Mayank were only one game at the helm of Punjab, Maxwell was the captain of the franchise for 14 games in 2015. Hence, we have the Aussie on this list.
Maxwell’s first IPL franchise was Delhi Capitals. He turned up for them in 2012. Later, he made the move to Mumbai Indians before landing in Punjab for the 2014 edition, where he found immense success. Maxwell came back to Delhi in 2018 but struggled to perform. He is currently doing well for RCB in IPL 2021.
5) Sanju Samson – Rajasthan Royals
Between 2016 and 2017, Sanju Samson played for Delhi Capitals. However, the team decided against retaining him before the IPL 2018 mega-auctions. He returned to Rajasthan Royals, the franchise where he became a star.
In 2021, Samson was appointed as the captain of the franchise. Although his team has struggled, the Kerala player has shown that he has the mettle to excel in the responsibility.
