Axar Patel has led Delhi Capitals to fifth and sixth, and they have shut their trade window without moving him on
A Delhi Capitals source says there will be no more trades before the 17 November retention deadline, so Axar Patel and Ashutosh Sharma stay. Who captains the side in IPL 2027 is still undecided, with Rishabh Pant back in the squad.
Nov 10, 2026
Delhi Capitals have finished their trading for IPL 2027, and the two players most often named in the rumours are staying. A franchise source told India Today that “there will be no more trades as far as Delhi Capitals are concerned”, which keeps Axar Patel and Ashutosh Sharma in Delhi with a week to go before the retention lists are due.
The bigger question is still open. The same report said Delhi have not settled on a captain for next season, and keeping Axar does not answer it. He has led the side for two seasons. Rishabh Pant, who captained Delhi before he left for Lucknow, is back in the squad. KL Rahul was their leading run-scorer in 2026. That is three plausible captains in one dressing room.
The Chennai talk is over
Most of the noise around Axar came from Chennai. Reports linked Chennai Super Kings with a swap that would have sent Axar south and brought Dewald Brevis to Delhi. Nothing was ever agreed, and Delhi co-owner Parth Jindal put out a message on 19 October: “Ax bhaii, hamara Ax bhai – can’t wait to see you in the red and blue – we have unfinished business.”
Axar is a bowler first in this side. He took 11 wickets in IPL 2026 and added 173 runs. Those are useful numbers rather than dominant ones, but left-arm spin that can bat in the top seven is hard to buy at an auction, and Chennai’s interest says as much.
Ashutosh is the other name Delhi have chosen to keep. He scored 171 runs in eight innings last season at a strike rate of 181.91, which is the kind of late-overs hitting every franchise chases. Gujarat Titans were reported to have asked about him months ago and got no reply.
Fifth, then sixth
The reason the captaincy is up for debate is the table. Delhi finished fifth in 2025 and sixth in 2026, missing the playoffs both times. Last season they won seven of their 14 games, took three wins in a row at the end and still went out with 14 points. They started that campaign with wins over Lucknow and Mumbai, then lost three on the bounce in April, including a 75 all out against Bengaluru.
Then there is Pant. Delhi brought him back from Lucknow in June in a swap for Kuldeep Yadav, on a revised fee of ₹15 crore. Lucknow had paid ₹27 crore for him at the IPL 2025 auction, which is still the IPL auction record. Pant led Delhi before that move, and he is the obvious alternative if the owners want a reset. Rahul, who scored 593 runs for them in 2026, is the other.
Delhi have time. Every franchise has until 17 November to submit its retained and released players, and the mini-auction is in Goa on 16 December. By shutting the trade window a week early, they have told the other nine franchises that the core is settled. They have not told anyone who will lead it.