Delhi Capitals (DC) have been quite active during the off-season, making a few smart trades ahead of the forthcoming IPL 2027 mini-auction, which is scheduled to take place in mid-December this year.
Earlier this year, Rishabh Pant returned to the Capitals after being with the Lucknow Super Giants for two years. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav moved to the LSG franchise for the next season.
Meanwhile, most recently, T Natarajan moved back to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) while the leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari was traded to the Capitals. This recent move was made after the appointment of Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh to the coaching staff.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Indian opening batter and commentator Aakash Chopra shared his views on the two trades made by the Capitals ahead of the much-awaited IPL mini-auction.
“First they let go of Kuldeep for Pant, and now they have swapped Natarajan for Ansari. There aren’t many spinners like Kuldeep Yadav in the country, and it is impossible to replace him,” Aakash Chopra said.
“Did you really need Rishabh? He is a good player, no doubt, but does the team have a spot in the middle-order? Can you put Pant in the top-order? Looks like Lucknow benefitted greatly from the deal. The team needed someone to replace Kuldeep. They have Vipraj, Axar, and Zeeshan. The side had to release Natarajan undoubtedly, and they also could let go of Auqib Nabi and Mukesh Kumar,” he added.
“If we speak about the trades, LSG will be happier with the Pant and Yadav deal, and Hyderabad will also be happy. What are Delhi Capitals, exactly doing?” he concluded.
