Vijay Kumar – New Delhi
- Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhul, Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat and Harshit Rana were the most sought-after players in the Players Draft held on Friday evening for the first edition of the Delhi Premier League and emerged as the key players of the day.
- Old Delhi 6 added wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Ishant Sharma to their team while North Delhi Strikers added Harshit Rana and Central Delhi Kings added Yash Dhul to their team.
- The draft included 270 cricketers from across Delhi, including players who played in India, IPL, national and Under-19 teams.
Old Delhi 6 built a strong team around explosive wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and experienced Ishant Sharma. The franchise also acquired the services of all-rounder Lalit Yadav, who has returned after playing with Delhi Capitals. Apart from this, Old Delhi also added batting all-rounder Shivam Sharma. West Delhi Lions chose Mumbai Indians‘ wily Hrithik Shokeen as their first choice, while the flamboyant Navdeep Saini was the team’s next choice. Middle-order batsman Dev Lakra, bowling all-rounder Deepak Punia and off-spinner Shivank Vashisth were also among the team’s top five picks.
North Delhi Strikers gave preference to fast bowlers and chose lethal fast bowler Harshit Rana as their draft pick. Notably, Rana had made a splash in the most recent edition of the IPL. He took 19 wickets in just 13 matches and is currently on his first tour with the Indian team.
North Delhi Strikers also acquired the services of leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who played a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders‘ recent title win in the IPL. Also, North Delhi Strikers added medium pacer Pranshu Vijayran, former India Under-19 player Vaibhav Kandpal and Kshitij Sharma.
Central Delhi Kings started their draft by adding prolific batsman and former India Under-19 captain Yash Dhul and right-arm leg-spinner Prince Choudhary to their squad. Apart from this, they also added opener Hiten Dalal, all-rounder Jonty Sidhu and wicketkeeper-batsman Lakshya Thareja.
East Delhi Riders acquired the services of aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman Anuj Rawat, who regularly plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore, while fast bowler Simarjeet Singh was their other Category-A player. The Riders also drafted Himmat Singh to strengthen their batting unit. They also added medium pacer Himanshu Chauhan and slow left-arm orthodox bowler Harsh Tyagi.
For South Delhi Superstars, their draft began with a successful bid for middle-order batsman Ayush Badoni, who has been playing regularly for Lucknow Super Giants in recent years. Left-arm pacer Kuldeep Yadav was the Superstars’ next choice. Earlier, the team bought 23-year-old Priyansh Arya and batting all-rounder Sumit Mathur.
The top four bidders in the men’s franchise auction also placed bids for the women’s teams. It will feature top women cricketers from across the region.
In the women’s draft, Indian batting all-rounder Shweta Sehrawat emerged as South Delhi Superstars‘ top choice, while top-order batsman Priya Punia will play for East Delhi Knight Riders. Similarly, wicketkeeper Laxmi Yadav was picked by Central Delhi Queens (Central Delhi Kings) and medium pacer Soni Yadav was picked by North Delhi Strikers.
The first edition of the Delhi Premier League will run from August 17 to September 8, 2024. All its matches will be held at the Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. There will be a total of 40 matches in the inaugural season of the T20 league. This includes 33 matches in the men’s category and 7 matches in the women’s category.
