Delhi Capitals made oodles of trades ahead of the IPL 2020 auction and roped in veterans like R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane to their roster, adding the much-needed experience in the team. Both the players have led IPL franchises and have been team India’s vice-captain – Rahane is recently the vice-captain – in the longest format. With the duo joining the squad, there were expectations that a young Shreyas Iyer may not be confirmed to lead the team in the next season.
Also Read: Is Ravindra Jadeja moving to Mumbai Indians? CSK answer
However, the franchise has put all the speculations to rest. In a tweet on Monday, Iyer himself confirmed that he can’t wait to lead the team next season, confirming that he will continue to lead Delhi Capitals. Both Ashwin and Rahane will share their experience with the youngster.
Iyer had taken over as DC’s captain mid-season in IPL 2018 after Gautam Gambhir decided to step down from the post. He created history in IPL 2019 as Delhi qualified for the playoffs after seven long years. They won the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad but lost to Chennai Super Kings in the second Qualifier.
The team will look to improve its performance and with DC adding the experience in their side, they are one of the strongest contenders in the next season of the T20 league.
Delhi already have likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada and Axar Patel.
Ahead of the auction, the franchise released Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Colin Ingram, B Ayyappa, Jalaj Saxena, Hanuma Vihari, Manjot Kalra, Nathu Singh and Ankush Bains. They also traded pacer Trent Boult (to Mumbai Indians), Mayank Markande and Rahul Tewatia (both to Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Rahane) and Sherfane Rutherford (to Mumbai Indians).
Going into the auction, Delhi Capitals have a purse of Rs 27.85 Crores. They need to add couple of middle-order batsmen and finishers. The auction for the next season of the league takes place on December 19 in Kolkata.