A bankable wicket-keeper batter, an all-season skipper, a stellar auction and a proficient coaching setup: Delhi Capitals enter IPL 2026 looking to better their 5th place finish with a squad for the ages.
Last featured in the playoffs back in 2021, DC began the 2025 edition with five wins on the bounce to begin win, but experienced a dramatic freefall to eventually crash out of the tournament in the preliminary stage.
The Delhi-based outfit bolstered their squad with the likes of Pathum Nissanka and Prithvi Shaw at the top of the order, along with fast bowling backups in Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, and the talk of the Indian first-class circuit, Aaqib Dar, among others.
And it's fair to assume that with the filling of cracks, they are poised to challenge for the title that has eluded them for 18 years.
Also read: MI IPL 2026 Preview: Team Of Stars To Reclaim Their Throne?
DC Squad - IPL 2026
Axar Patel (c), Mitchell Starc, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Nitish Rana, Ben Duckett, Dushmantha Chameera, Aaqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Ajay Mandal, Karun Nair , T Natarajan, Prithvi Shaw, Sahil Parakh, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Sameer Rizvi, Tripurana Vijay, Kyle Jamieson, Abhishek Porel.
A team built like a buffet
Simply put, DC went into the auction having released Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis, in search of KL Rahul's partner. And they beefed up their roster, and how. Shaw, Nissanka, teen sensation Sahil Parakh and Ben Duckett were their opening additions. The latter now has withdrawn from the IPL citing international commitments as a reason.
Not to mention, they also roped in local boy Nitish Rana for Donovan Ferreira (to Rajasthan Royals), which means they could deploy nearly half a dozen top three permutations.
With Mukesh Kumar's death bowling having been a concern, DC acquired Aaqib, who stockpiled 60 wickets in the Ranji trophy, 14 from seven matches in the Vijay Hazare, and 15 dismissals from seven in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, demonstrating his all-format skillsets. In contrast, Mukesh has leaked over 10 runs an over every season.
There is, therefore, a backup or more for every position in DC. They have the swing upfront, the yorkers at the backend, and the world-class spin duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
A Starc-sized conundrum
Losing a player like Mitchell Starc for the initial stages of the tournament is an irremediable setback. He's not just a consistent wicket-taker - with 31 in his last two IPL seasons - his real genius is the big-match temperament, perfectly underlined by his super-over heroics for DC and that near unplayable new-ball spell in the 2024 final versus Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"On Mitchell Starc, we are in constant communication with him and the relevant boards. He has started bowling, and had a session recently," said DC head coach Hemang Badani.
"But the key point here is that until Cricket Australia provides the No Objection Certificate (NOC) and confirms his availability, there is very little we as a franchise can do. Once that clearance comes through, we will have complete clarity on when he joins the squad and how we plan around that."
It's a peculiar situation to be in for DC. Starc has not bowled since his Player of the series display in the Ashes, and will have a couple of months off before Australia's grueling Test season begins later this year.
DC will have to turn to their bench as uncertainty looms over Starc's participation.
Too many cooks?
Having a team with abundance on talent sitting in the shed can be pivotal in a 14-game cricket festival, but can equally tempt the management to turn to plan B if the first-choice players in question do not live up to the billing.
Take for example their process in 2025. They slotted KL Rahul, arguably IPL's most consistent opener with over 4,400 runs at an average of 49.64, at number four to start with. And followed it up with close to eight different opening combinations.
DC will have to structurally shoehorn their preferred XI. A team that fields with two overseas middle order bats and two overseas pacers is equally adept as an overseas opener, Stubbs and Miller, and just one overseas fast bowler.
But the trust needs to pinned and players must feel the backing from the top-down in a league akin to the tightest pressure container in world cricket.
Still, Badani, Venugopal Rao and England great Ian Bell as the assistant, possess the know-how of winning titles, as displayed in the ILT20 with Dubai Capitals.
DC Predicted XI
KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Auqib Nabi, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi. Impact Player: T Natarajan.
DC Season Predictions
League Position: 1st
Top Run Scorer: KL Rahul
Top Wicket Taker: Kuldeep Yadav
