Delhi Capitals have retained four players ahead of the IPL 2021 mega-auction.
Delhi Capitals (DC) have retained the quartet of Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Akshar Patel, and Anrich Nortje for IPL 2022. The retained players thanked the franchise for their faith in them and they are looking forward to continuing the amazing journey.
DC performed very well in the last cycle and they made it to the playoffs three times out of four seasons, which also included a final in IPL 2020. Pant, who was appointed as captain in IPL 2021, got retained by the franchise for INR 16 crores.
Akshar has been one of the top contributors for the franchise with his all-round ability and he was second in the retention list with INR 12 crores, followed by Shaw for INR 8 crores, and South African pacer Nortje for INR 6 crores.
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"My journey with the Delhi Capitals has been very special. I would like to thank the DC family for showing so much trust and faith in me. I am very excited about playing in the upcoming season," said Akshar in an official release.
Shaw was also thankful for the belief shown by the franchise in him. "It has been an amazing journey for me with the franchise since 2018, and they have supported me through ups and downs, for which I am very grateful. Thank you for showing the belief," he said.
Nortje is eager to don the blue jersey again and join the team for the upcoming season. He said, "It's been an unbelievable journey for me with Delhi so far, and I've learned so much from everyone around the squad. The overall environment has been superb the last two seasons, and I can't wait to join the team again."
Delhi had to let go of Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, and R Ashwin in the auction pool. Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had urged the Indian Premier League authorities to take a relook at the auction process.
(With ANI Inputs)