Delhi Capitals Dream Squad IPL 2026 – Full Ideal Team Players List
Given Sanju Samson’s potential trade in the team, explore the dream squad players list for Delhi Capitals (DC) for IPL 2026.
One of the only three teams that have been devoid of an IPL trophy, the Delhi Capitals’ journey in the Indian Premier League has been nothing more than a shocker. It’s been 18 years, and the Delhi Capitals are still looking to win their maiden IPL title. What’s more surprising is that they have played just one final in these 18 years of their journey, and that dream was also robbed by the Mumbai Indians in 2020. But what has been the main reason the Delhi Capitals haven’t been the franchise they could be?
Well, 18 years is a long time, and one can’t pinpoint the exact reason for their mediocre performance. But one of the important reasons for Delhi not having had success in the IPL is a lack of developing a good core. Take CSK and MI, for example, they are known for players like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Lasith Malinga, Keiron Pollard, and many more. But you can’t point to a single player that you can associate with the Delhi Capitals. Rishabh Pant was probably the only player who was with the Team for years, but he is also not in the team anymore.
So, come 2025, things will be no different than they were in the last 18 years. Delhi Capitals are still searching for a proper core, and even currently, there are just Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav who have been with the team for a few years now. The team got KL Rahul in the team in 2024, and hopefully, he is with the team for a long time. Aside from these three, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel, Mitchell Starc, etc., have been emerging as the core of the Delhi Capitals in the coming few years.
Sanju Samson as a Big Trade from Rajasthan Royals
But just as the Delhi Capitals were looking to develop a core, big news is emerging from the Delhi Capitals camp about a potential trade of Tristan Stubbs to the Rajasthan Royals, and Sanju Samson to the Delhi Capitals. While this looks more like a win for Delhi Capitals than Rajasthan Royals, it is also another attempt to break the core, in search of a new core. Stubbs has been with the team for a few years, and has done well for the team.
So, while this swap is difficult to understand, he only reason could be the lack of leadership in the Delhi camp, and they are looking at Sanju to lead the team for many years to come. If Sanju Samson comes in the side, which is a good possibility now, the Delhi Capitals will have to rethink their retention strategy for IPL 2026. So, which players are Delhi Capitals likely to retain, which players will face the axe, and more importantly, which players shall Delhi Capitals target in IPL 2026 Mini Auction, to be able to complete their dream squad list? Well, let’s find out in this article.
Delhi Capitals (DC) Core for IPL 2026
Let’s first talk about the core of the Delhi Capitals. The team has KL Rahul, Abhishek Porel, and Ashutosh Sharma as the dependable batters in the team. They also have Trista Stubbs, but considering a potential with Sanju Samson, Sanju gets added alongside the trio. With these 4 batters, Axar Patel and Vipraj Nigam are the top two All-rounders in the team. From the bowling perspective, the Delhi Capitals have Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, and T Natarajan. So, these 10 form the current core of Delhi Capitals.
Alongside these 10 players, Delhi Capitals have Faf du Plessis, Donovan Ferreira, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and Sameer Rizvi among good backups in the side. Considering these 13 as the key players, what the Delhi Capitals are missing is a finisher for Stubbs, a good All-rounder, and potential backups to their first-choice bowling lineup, which seems almost sorted. So, who makes it to the team as the Delhi Capitals find potential players in the Mini Auction?
IPL 2026 Best Released Players List for Delhi Capitals (DC)
- Karun Nair
- Ajay Mandal
- Darshan Nalkande
- Madhav Tiwari
- Manvanth Kumar
- Tripurana Vijay
- Dushmantha Chameera (o)
- Mohit Sharma
- Sediqullah Atal (o)
If Delhi Capitals retain 14 players as expected, the team will still have only around 9 Cr for the Auction. This is because the Delhi Capitals have already spent a huge amount on their existing players, and that leaves them with only a few crores for the Mini Auction. So, ideally, the team can hire decent Overseas backups in the Auction alongside one good name. Among the good names, their old foe Glenn Maxwell will be a good addition, and they can get Rovman Powell and Wiaan Mulder at the base price. Hopefully, Maxwell and Mulder are available in the Auction.
Aside from these three additions, Delhi Capitals can look to bolster their bowling, and they can get the likes of Rahul Chahar and Kamlesh Nagarkoti at a reasonable price. This is assuming both under-utilised players are released by the respective franchise. Overall, 20 players is a good number for Delhi Capitals, and they may ideally not look to complete 25 players. This team also gives the Delhi Capitals a good batting and bowling depth.
IPL 2026 Dream Squad and Players List for Delhi Capitals (DC)
Batters
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Faf du Plessis (o)
- Jake Fraser-McGurk (o)
- Rovman Powell (o)
- Sameer Rizvi
Wicket-keepers
- Abhishek Porel
- Donavan Ferreira (o)
- KL Rahul
- Sanju Samson (c)
All-rounders
- Axar Patel
- Glenn Maxwell (o)
- Vipraj Nigam
- Wiaan Mulder (o)
Bowlers
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mitchell Starc (o)
- Mustafizur Rahman (o)
- Mukesh Kumar
- Rahul Chahar
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti
- T Natarajan
So, that’s about the dream squad and players list for Delhi Capitals for IPL 2026. If we talk about the strongest playing 11 based on the above dream squad, we are looking at Faf du Plessis and Sanju Samson as openers. Abhishek Porel at 3, KL Rahul at 4, Glenn Maxwell at 5, Axar Patel at 6, Ashutosh Sharma at 7, and Viraj Nigam form a formidable middle and lower-order. For bowling, Delhi shall have 7 strong bowling options with 3 All-rounders as above, and 4 proper bowlers, Kuldeep, Starc, Natarajan, and Mukesh.
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