It won’t be an overstatement to say that the Delhi Capitals (DC) were the best IPL 2025 team not to qualify for the playoffs. They had everything – a great Indian batting core, some hard-hitting overseas options, a potent spin attack and some T20 pace specialists. A revamp in the coaching staff was done before the season, and a strong contingent was set to dazzle the IPL 2025. But it wasn’t to be, as DC finished fifth on the table.
However, it started blazingly. In fact, at one point, DC seemed certain contenders to seal the top two finish, let alone just qualify. The Capitals recorded five wins in their first six games. From KL Rahul’s flair to Kuldeep Yadav’s guile, everything was clicking at that point. Despite some questionable decisions, the results got to their way. But in the second half, DC faltered and seemed to be an easy target that crumbled under pressure.
They had a superb squad, nonetheless, and performed admirably for the majority of the season. Hence, it would be harsh to rate them anything before 7 out of 10 at IPL 2025. On that very note, InsideSport comes up with a review for the Delhi Capitals below.
IPL 2025 DC Retained & Released Players
Delhi Capitals retained players
Axar Patel – Rs 16.5 crore Kuldeep Yadav – Rs 13.25 crore Tristan Stubbs – Rs 10 crore Abishek Porel – Rs 4 croreDC released players
Rishabh Pant, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lungi Ngidi, Harry Brook, Lizaad Williams, Gulbadin Naib, Mitchell Marsh, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Khaleel Ahmed, Vicky Ostwal, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Salam, Sumit Kumar, Swastik Chhikara, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Jhye Richardson, Shai Hope(DC bought back JFM, Brook & Mukesh)
Lack of consistency from Kuldeep, Axar
DC showed immense faith in their Indian core and hence retained three Indians for a combined Rs 32.75 crore. Unfortunately, none of the three performed consistently throughout the IPL 2025. Axar Patel himself got just 5 wickets in 11 games. With the bat, he averaged 26.30, his personal lowest since 2021. Also, his captaincy was questionable as well.
Earlier in the season, he bowled a part-timer, Stubbs, against a dangerous Nicholas Pooran, that too, in a death over. In one of the games, DC had RCB’s game in their pockets, but Axar’s poor captaincy let Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya stitch a match-changing stand.
In that innings, he decided to use Mukesh Kumar, who was having an iffy day, to bowl the penultimate over instead of Mitchell Starc. Mukesh returned to the attack and then was bashed away for 6, 4, 4, 4 in the over. Having said that, it was Axar’s first year of full-time captaincy, and he will only get better as time goes on.
Meanwhile, Porel was given a consistent run at the top of the order, but he managed just one fifty in 13 innings. He showed spark but other teams have far more consistent uncapped batters. Porel, being a retained player, needs to step up next season. Kuldeep Yadav’s decline, meanwhile, coincided with Delhi’s, as he got 12 wickets in the first seven games but could muster only three in the last six.
Delhi Capitals Review (7/10)
Positives for DC
Unearthed Vipraj Nigam – 11 wickets & 142 runs at 179.75 KL Rahul’s flexibility Tristan Stubb’s reliability Ashutosh Sharma’s power Mitchell Starc’s wicket-taking abilitiesNegatives for DC
Poor captaincy & form by Axar Patel Awful form by Faf du Plessis & Jake Fraser-McGurk Inconsistencies by Indian batters Let down by Mukesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma & T NatarajanDC squad IPL 2025
KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mustafizur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Manvanth Kumar
Looking ahead to IPL 2026 for DC
Delhi, despite having most of the assets covered, need a blazing overseas batter up top. JFM and Faf were letdowns this season. They do have Sediqullah Atal, but he is yet to prove himself on a big stage like the IPL. T20 cricket is backed by power-hitters, and DC need at least two of them. They need to fix KL Rahul’s spot as well and decide if he’s a permanent number four batter or not. Moreover, DC have a bit ageing Indian pace unit and need fresh blood.
Delhi Capitals review (7/10): Best team not to qualify for IPL 2025 playoffs Inside Sport India.
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