Delhi Capitals likely to release Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat and three others ahead of IPL 2023
Shardul Thakur is likely to be released by Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals (DC) are reportedly set to release as many as five players ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction. The Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs last season despite assembling a star-studded squad featuring some of the best players from around the globe.
India's pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur was one of their topbuys at the auction ahead of IPL 2022 as they spent a whopping Rs 10.75 crore (INR 107.5 million) to secure his services. However, Sharul failed to live up to the expectations as he managed only 15 wickets in 14 games and 120 runs with the bat.
While he was among the wickets for his team, the Indian pacer was quite expensive and conceded at an economy rate of nearly ten. He is among the five players who are likely to be released by the Capitals ahead of the mini-auction which is set to take place before the start of the 2023 season.
Apart from Shardul, Indian wicket-keeper batter KS Bharat, New Zealand keeper-batter Tim Seifert, Mandeep Singh, and Ashwin Habbar are the other four players set to be released by the Rishabh Pant-led side, as per news agency PTI.
"Shardul is a premium all-rounder but his price tag was an issue. The others who are set to be released are Hebbar, Mandeep, Seifert, and Bharat," an IPL source was quoted as saying by PTI.
Delhi Capitals had an average campaign in IPL 2022 as they finished fifth on the points table after managing seven wins and as many defeats in 14 games under Pant's captaincy. They will be hoping to strengthen their squad and paper the cracks in their squad with the money freed from the release of the five players.