Delhi Capitals have stronger squad than last year, says Ganguly after WPL Auction

Bengaluru, Dec 15 (IANS) Delhi Capitals entered the WPL 2025 Auction with a budget of Rs 2.5 crore, aiming to fill four slots. They successfully secured wicketkeepers Nandini Kashyap and Sarah Bryce, all-rounder N Charani, and young talent Niki Prasad. 

“Very good auction for us to be honest. I've been with this WPL team for two seasons now, watching them closely, involved in the auction and everything. And we are far stronger squad than we were last year, with Nandini and Sarah in the squad now, we are looking very good,” Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket – Delhi Capitals (WPL) reflected after the auction.

Delhi Capitals were on the hunt for a backup wicketkeeper and their first buy, for Rs 10 lakh, was Nandini Kashyap. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper recently scored 247 runs at a strike rate of 125.40 in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy for Uttarakhand.

“I was surprised to get her for 10 lakhs, we wanted to get one of Nandini, Simran or Kamalini, but we didn’t expect to get Nandini so cheap. To get Nandini and Sarah Bryce at that price is remarkable,” Ganguly revealed.

Engaging in a bidding war with Mumbai Indians next, Delhi Capitals signed 20-year-old all-rounder N Charani for Rs 55 lakh. She played nine matches for the Gujarat Giants last season. To bolster their squad further, Delhi Capitals acquired Scotland’s wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce for Rs 10 lakh. She has 1,290 runs in 58 T20I matches.

Wrapping up their auction, Delhi Capitals secured 19-year-old Niki Prasad from Karnataka for Rs 10 lakh. She was recently named captain of the U19 team for the inaugural women’s U-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

With these additions, the Delhi Capitals' squad now boasts a well-balanced and formidable lineup, including Indian stars Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma and international players Meg Lanning, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen.

Delhi Capitals WPL squad:

Indian players: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Taniyaa Bhatia (WK), Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi, Titas Sadhu, Nandini Kashyap (WK), N Charani, Niki Prasad.

Overseas players: Meg Lanning, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland, Sarah Bryce (WK).

--IANS

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