IPL Auction: Delhi Capitals' Strategy Is To Back Indian Bowlers, Says Pravin Amre

Delhi Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre has said that the team's strategy in this year's IPL will be to back Indian bowlers, as with South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje in the side, the franchise is in a great position to explore several combinations.

Expressing his happiness with the players the team had bought in the Indian Premier League Mega Auction so far, Amre said on Sunday that, "We are quite pleased with our buys. We have a good bank of Indian fast bowlers. Our strategy is to back Indian bowlers, because with Anrich Nortje in our squad, we can use various other combinations. We will get these options of combinations with a left-arm seamer like Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed."

Delhi Capitals picked up Khaleel Ahmed and Chetan Sakariya on Day 2 of the IPL Mega Auction, with the franchise snapping the former for INR 5.25 crore. Left-arm pacer Ahmed is returning to DC after two seasons with the franchise in 2016 and 2017.

On Sunday, the JSW and GMR co-owned franchise acquired some exciting Indian players with India batter Mandeep Singh being bought for INR 1.10 crore, while the left-arm duo of Khaleel Ahmed and Chetan Sakariya were acquired for INR 5.25 crore and 4.20 crore, respectively.

"Chetan Sakariya is a very exciting talent. He had a tremendous IPL season the last time, and we were expecting Sakariya's price to be higher. And, Khaleel is a player who was with us in the past, so we know him. He has also been performing well in T20 cricket for the past three years. So with the Indian pacers, we can use various combinations," added the DC assistant coach.

Expressing his excitement to join Delhi Capitals, Mandeep said, "I feel great to be a part of Delhi Capitals team. Thank you Delhi Capitals management for showing faith in me. I will give my absolute best to the franchise. Looking forward to a great season ahead. Ye hai Nayi Dilli!"

Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur, who has been the franchise's most expensive buys in the auction so far, said, "I am pretty excited to play for Delhi Capitals and leave a mark. Thank you for showing faith in me and going all out in the bidding war for me. We are going to aim for nothing less than the Championship."

Mandeep Singh has scored 1674 runs in 105 matches with a strike rate of 124.09 in his IPL career. The right-handed batter, who has represented teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings in the past seasons, had a remarkable season for the Punjab-based franchise in IPL 2012 when he was awarded the 'Emerging-player-of-the-year' award for scoring 432 runs in 16 matches.

Khaleel Ahmed, the skiddy left-arm pacer, who spent four seasons at Sunrisers Hyderabad, has taken 32 wickets in 24 IPL matches. The 24-year-old player has picked 87 scalps in 69 matches in his T20 career.

Chetan Sakariya made his IPL and India debut last year. The left-arm pacer had an impressive stint with Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021, picking 14 wickets in 14 games at an average of 30.42 and an economy rate of 8.19. He was the second highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan Royals last season.

Players acquired by Delhi Capitals at the IPL Mega Auction: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya.

Delhi Capitals' Retained players: Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw and Anrich Nortje.