IPL 2022 Auction: 3 players DC could have retained instead of the present trio
Delhi Capitals (DC) have won the hearts of their fans with their fantastic performances over the last three years. The Delhi-based franchise made it to the playoffs in each of the last three IPL seasons. Although they could not end their championship drought, DC showed they have what it takes to become a champion soon.
Unfortunately, because of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction rules, DC had to let go a majority of their star players. The BCCI allows existing franchises to retain a maximum of four players only.
DC used all four slots available and retained the quartet of Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel. While Pant was expected to be the number one retention, many fans thought the following three players could have been retained by DC in the remaining three slots.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan - Scored 500+ runs in each of the last 3 seasons for DC
One of the major reasons behind DC's success over the last three years was Shikhar Dhawan's consistency. The star Indian opener scored 521 runs in IPL 2019, followed it up 618 runs in IPL 2020 and amassed 587 runs in IPL 2021.
Although Dhawan has scored more than 1,700 runs for DC in less than 50 IPL matches over the last three seasons, the Delhi-based franchise have not retained him ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
Given how consistently Dhawan has performed at the top of the order for DC, it should not be a surprise if the Delhi-based franchise bid aggressively for him at the mega auction.
#2 Shreyas Iyer - Led DC to their maiden IPL final in 2020
Shreyas Iyer joined the Delhi Capitals (then known as Delhi Daredevils) in 2015 and remained with the franchise until 2021. On November 30, 2021, DC released Iyer from their squad for the first time ever.
Iyer was the heart of the Delhi Capitals franchise for the last few seasons. He was the backbone of the batting order and it was under his captaincy that the Delhi Capitals reached an IPL final for the first time in 13 years.
However, according to reports, Iyer wanted a leadership role. Since DC wished to continue with Rishabh Pant as captain, both captains could not come to an agreement, and Iyer was released.
#3 Kagiso Rabada - Won Purple Cap in IPL 2020
Like Shreyas Iyer, IPL 2020 Purple Cap winner Kagiso Rabada has only played for the Delhi-based franchise in his IPL career. He joined the Capitals in 2017 and scalped 76 wickets for the team in 50 matches.
Rabada is a wicket-taking bowler who can provide breakthroughs to the team at any moment in the match. He is excellent in the death overs and any IPL team would love to have a bowler like him in their squad.
DC could have retained both Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, but they decided to go with a 3 Indians + 1 foreigner combination and released Rabada.