5 Indian players whose careers blossomed after leaving Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) is one of the underperforming IPL franchises in the history of the tournament. Though they have had some amazing players in the past, they have not been able to put consistent performances and never won an IPL title.

The likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra have all played their best years of IPL cricket with Delhi Capitals. However, the team management has made a blunder by changing the squad frequently.

While some of them have struggled to replicate the same performances, the likes of AB De Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, and Shikhar Dhawan, who were a part of DC in the initial stage of the IPL, went on to become an important member for their respective franchises later.

On that note, we take a look at the five Indian players who have enjoyed their IPL success after leaving Delhi Capitals.

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#5 Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav was bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2009 but he did not get an opportunity to wear the red jersey. He made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2010 and could only pick six wickets in seven games.

He went on to play a few more seasons for them before being released by the same franchise ahead of the 2014 IPL auction. During his stint with DD, he has featured in 51 games and picked only 47 wickets at an average of 30.

He then moved to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and spent four years with them. The right-arm pacer picked up 48 wickets for KKR, which included six three-wicket hauls to his name.

In 2018, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Umesh Yadav and he justified his price tag with 20 wickets in just 14 games at an impressive average of just 20.

Umesh Yadav was overlooked by Delhi Daredevils, who are yet to lay their hands on the IPL title. Moreover, he is one among the few players who have taken more than 110 wickets in IPL so far.

#4 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 but did not get an opportunity to play for them. In 2013, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals and spent three years with them before moving to Delhi Daredevils in 2016.

The right-hander was in decent form for RR as he scored 206, 339 and 204 runs in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Following Rajasthan Royals' two-year ban from IPL, Delhi Capitals acquired him for the 2016 IPL. Samson, who could only score a fifty in 2016, smashed 386 runs in 14 games that he played in 2017 at a strike-rate of 141.39.

However, he was released by DC ahead of the mega-auction in 2018 and returned back to his old franchise, Rajasthan Royals. He has been in sensational form after leaving DD as he scored 441 runs in 15 games at an average of 31.50 including three fifties.

#3 Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav

In 2010, Kedar Jadhav was signed by Delhi Capitals and he won the Man of the Match award in his debut innings for his 29-ball fifty against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he finished the season with only 76 runs in five innings. Jadhav, who was signed by Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011, returned again to Delhi Capitals in 2013 but was not successful.

Delhi chose to release him but bought him again in the 2014 IPL auction. The right-handed batsman has failed once again as he scored just 149 runs in 10 innings in 2014. Jadhav, who was traded to RCB in 2016, spent two years with them. In 2017, he scored 267 runs in 13 innings at a fabulous strike-rate of 143.54.

He also represented Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and helped them to clinch the thriller against Mumbai Indians. Jadhav is arguably an asset to any team as he could hit the big shots with the bat and provide an extra bowling option to his skipper.

#2 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul's impressive performances in the 2008 U19 World Cup earned him an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders but never got a single game for them. In 2013, he made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals and picked up four wickets in five games at an economy of 7.78.

Siddarth Kaul played five games in 2014 and scalped only two wickets at an economy rate of about 10. Kaul was released by DC ahead of IPL 2015. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 and benched for that whole season.

In 2017, the skiddy pacer came into limelight when he picked up 16 wickets in just 10 games for SRH. In 2018, he scalped 21 wickets in 17 games at an economy rate of 8.28. He is currently one of the leading pacers for Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise.

Kaul has been getting better each year which makes us wonder what would have happened had he stayed with DC for a couple more years.

#1 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan

After stellar performances in the domestic circuit, Dhawan was bought by Delhi Daredevils ahead of the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League. He played 14 games and scored 340 runs at an average of 37.77 with four half-centuries. However, despite his performances, they chose not to retain him.

He was traded to Mumbai Indians in exchange for Ashish Nehra in 2009. Dhawan, who represented MI in 2009 and 2010, moved to Deccan Charges in 2011.

He was in great touch as he smashed 400 runs in 2011 and 569 runs in 2012 for Deccan Charges. The Delhi-born cricketer was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad after Deccan Chargers was terminated by BCCI.

Delhi made a blunder by removing the left-hander as he has scored more than 2500 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad at a decent average of 35. Dhawan was one of the prime forces behind SRH's title-run in 2016. However, he was traded to Delhi Capitals for the 2019 IPL season.

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