New Delhi, November 26 – Delhi Capitals made strategic moves during the second day of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, acquiring former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis for Rs 2 crore and retaining India pacer Mukesh Kumar for Rs 8 crore using the RTM (Right to Match) card.
Star Acquisitions
- Faf du Plessis: The veteran batter, who has scored an impressive 4,571 runs in 145 IPL matches, including 37 half-centuries, brings immense experience and leadership to the team. A two-time IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings, du Plessis also led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the playoffs in the previous season.
- Mukesh Kumar: Having debuted with Delhi Capitals in 2023, Mukesh has consistently performed, taking 17 wickets in 10 matches last season. The pacer also debuted for Team India across all three formats in 2023, underlining his rising prominence.
Management’s Views
Venugopal Rao, Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals, highlighted the team’s balanced approach this season:
“This time, our batting and bowling is very compact. Our bowling lineup is experienced. We have strengthened our fast bowling with Starc, Natarajan, Mohit, and Mukesh, who are all experienced. They will combine with our spinners Axar and Kuldeep, so our bowling lineup is very experienced. Batters will win matches for us, but bowlers will win us the title.”
On acquiring Faf du Plessis, Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals (WPL) and JSW Sports, said:
“He has been very good in this (T20) format. He had a terrific CPL and MLC. Another part of Faf’s ability is the leadership, so we are extremely happy and surprised that we got him for this amount.”
Players Acquired on Day 2
- Faf du Plessis (South Africa) – Batter – Rs 2 crore
- Mukesh Kumar (India) – Bowler – Rs 8 crore
Delhi Capitals’ calculated buys signal their intent to build a balanced and experienced squad, with an eye on clinching their maiden IPL title.