Delhi Capitals will be eyeing their maiden IPL title next season. The Delhi-based outfit is one of the three teams that have been playing in the IPL since the inaugural season but are yet to win the trophy. Delhi have also not qualified for the final since 2020.
For the 2025 season, Delhi have pretty much overhauled its squad. They have assembled a strong squad for the next season. At the same time, they also missed out on a number of players and it could backfire for them. So, here we are taking a look at three such players.
IPL 2025: Players Delhi Capitals will regret missing out on
Rishabh Pant:
When Delhi Capitals did not retain Rishabh Pant, arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman of India, a lot of eyebrows were raised. Pant was leading the team since 2021 and not many were expecting him to be released by the Delhi-based outfit. However, Delhi Capitals decided against retaining him.
Manu expected the franchise to go all out for their former captain in the mega auction. However, Delhi Capitals did not go big for Pant in the auction. Delhi did use the RTM but did not match Lucknow Super Giants’ bid of INR 27 crore. As a result, Pant will be donning the Lucknow Super Giants jersey in IPL 2025. Pant has been playing for DC since his inaugural IPL season in 2016.
Shreyas Iyer:
Before missing out on Pant, Delhi had tried their luck on Shreyas Iyer as well. Iyer had not only played for Delhi in the past but had led them as well. In 2020, Iyer led Delhi to the IPL final for the first time in their history. Later, he was released by the franchise.
In 2024, Iyer further enhanced his reputation as a captain by leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title. With Pant released, Delhi needed a captain and there were very few options better than Iyer in the auction. And while Delhi did bid big for their former captain, they eventually decided against buying him. Delhi bid for Iyer to INR 26.50 crore. In the end, Punjab Kings bought Iyer for INR 26.75 crore.
Anrich Nortje:
Delhi also decided against signing their former pacer Anrich Nortje in the auction, a decision that they would be hoping does not come back to haunt them. While Nortje did struggle with his form in IPL 2024, he has proved himself in the IPL in the past while playing for Delhi Capitals.
Even on Indian tracks, he constantly troubled the batsmen with his pace and bounce. Delhi, however, not only decided against making any bid for him but did not use the RTM option on him either. In the end, reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders bought Nortje for 6.50 crore.
Delhi Capitals squad for IPL 2025:
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Mitchell Starc, KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Jake Fraser-McGurk, T. Natarajan, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmantha Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.