Delhi Capitals will have to find a new opening partner for KL Rahul in IPL 2026, having released Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk before the mini-auction. While age could possibly be the reason behind the former RCB captain’s release, the Australian opener had a rather sub-par season in 2025. Although DC don’t have a lot of options in terms of finding openers at the mini-auction, there are some players in the pool whom they can target. Ahead of the mini-auction, let’s take a look at some of the openers DC can eye.
4 openers DC can eye at IPL 2026 auction
1. Devon Conway
The New Zealand batter has a decent record, both in IPL and T20Is, as an opener. The southpaw was released by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the mini-auction and played just 6 games for CSK in IPL 2025. While Conway won’t be as explosive as JFM, he can keep the scoreboard ticking with his ability to mix big hits and stroke play. Besides, bagging Conway can help DC maintain the left-right combination at the top of the order.
2. Rachin Ravindra
Another star who was released by CSK whom DC could consider for the position of the opener. He did so in some games for CSK in the past and has tasted decent success. His best season came in the year he made his IPL debut – 2024 – as he amassed 222 runs in 10 matches. In IPL 2025, he scored 191 runs in 8 games. Like Conway, he isn’t an explosive opener but has the ability to mix his shots well at the top of the order.
3. Quinton de Kock
The South Africa opener, who recently returned to international cricket, was released by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. He wasn’t in the best touch in the previous season, possibly why he was released. But he has immense potential as an opener and has dominated the position over the years in both international cricket and in the IPL. de Kock could be a good option for DC to go for as an opener.
4. Tim Seifert
The New Zealand keeper-batter was released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru after not getting a single game. He was signed as replacement for Jacob Bethell as the latter had to report for national duties. Seifert has a phenomenal record as an opener in T20Is, with 1378 runs out of 1850 runs coming while he has batted first or second.
DC squad before IPL 2026 auction
Abhishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, *Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, *Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, Nitish Rana (T), Sameer Rizvi, T. Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, *Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam
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