As per various reports, Delhi Capitals has retained Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Anrich Nortje ahead of IPL 2022 mega-auction. The deadline to announce the same is on November 30th. A team that reached the finals in IPL 2020 and the playoffs in IPL 2021, a lot of released players will be in demand at the auctions. In this article, we take a look at five released players by Delhi Capitals who might attract a big price in IPL 2022 auction.
1) Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer took over the reins at Delhi back in 2018. Since then, he has led the team well, including taking them to the finals. However, before IPL 2021, Iyer suffered an injury and had to miss the event. Hence, Rishabh Pant was appointed as the captain. Although he returned for the second leg, the franchise persisted with Pant as the skipper.
Iyer reportedly wants a captaincy assignment, but DC is inclined towards Pant. Now that Iyer has been released, he will be a hot cake in the market. While one of the new teams is likely to pick him in the draft, if they do not, Iyer is sure to go for a big sum at the auctions.
2) Shikhar Dhawan
In 2019, Shikhar Dhawan scored 521 runs and followed it up with 618 and 487 runs in the next two campaigns. Ever since his arrival, Gabbar has been the highest run-scorer for the franchise. Shikhar is also the second-highest run-getter in IPL at the moment.
Although age may not be on his side, Dhawan is a fit cricketer and can operate for three more years. With him, teams would get an experienced IPL cricketer apart from a left-handed opener, who is known for his consistency. Hence, the Delhi batsman can go for an expensive bid at the auctions.
3) R Ashwin
R Ashwin is one of the released players by the Delhi Capitals. After he was traded in from Punjab Kings, Ashwin has been part of a DC team that has reached the finals and the playoffs. He has also returned to Team India’s T20I set-up after the successful stint with the franchise.
Ashwin’s skills are very much relevant in T20 cricket, and this is one of the reasons why he would be in demand. He is also a reliable batsman at No.8 and is a potential captaincy choice. Therefore, he could extract some interest at the auctions.
4) Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan was the second-highest wicket-taker at IPL 2021. The Madhya Pradesh pacer collected 24 wickets at an average of 18.75 and with an economy of 7.38. The right-arm pacer did well both at the death and in the powerplay.
Going by what he has shown so far, Avesh is due with a long stint in the blue jersey. He is young, and his skills are only going to improve. Avesh could be backed to lead the pace attack of an XI, and hence, he could be signed up for a hefty price tag.
5) Kagiso Rabada
The arrival of Anrich Nortje might have sidelined him, but Kagiso Rabada has been Delhi’s best bowler in recent years. While he collected 25 wickets in 2019, he collected 30 of them in 2020. He was not bad either in 2021 where he collected 15 scalps.
That’s a remarkable consistency for an overseas pacer. His form might have tapered off, but Rabada can be backed to return to his old self. A few teams could think of hiring him as the overseas leader of the pace attack, and therefore, the South African can draw a lot of bids.
