One time IPL finalists Delhi Capitals are all set to restructure their squad ahead of IPL 2023 in their bid to win their first ever IPL title. According to a Cricbuzz report, the Capitals are set to let go of a few key players from their squad including their biggest purchase at the auction, Shardul Thakur. Thakur, who was the joint fifth-highest buy at the mega-auction, had a hefty payday of INR 10.75 crore. However, his returns remained on the lower side for the 2020 IPL finalists with both bat and the ball.
Thakur proved to be expensive with the ball as even though he did pick 15 wickets, he went for 9.8 runs per over, which was higher than the economy of his performances with the Chennai Super Kings in the title-winning year in 2021, where he picked up 21 wickets. Thakur also scored just 120 runs in 14 matches and Capitals might be mulling that his performances were not up to the mark according to the price they paid to acquire his services. Capitals may still buy him back at the auction at a lesser price but an Indian international at a one-day auction might not be easy to get.
However, Thakur is not the only one, the Capitals are thinking to release from the squad in 2022. Wicket-keeper batter KS Bharat and Mandeep Singh are the other two names as per the report, who are likely to be released as well by the Capitals. Bharat, who was the backup keeper to skipper Rishabh Pant didn't get many games and only played a couple towards the the back end of the tournament when Prithvi Shaw was ill. Similarly, Mandeep Singh too played just three games and his meagre return of 18 runs. Meanwhile, the franchises have been asked to submit their final list of retained IPL players by November, before the mini auction which is all set to be held either overseas or in India in December.
