Delhi Capitals release Alex Carey and Jason Roy among others ahead of IPL 2021

The Delhi Capitals have released a number of big names ahead of the 2021 IPL auction, with Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey, England opener Jason Roy, West Indies' Keemo Paul, and Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane all getting the boot. The 2020 IPL finalists have also released the Indian duo of Mohit Sharma and Tushar Deshpande.

None of the releases come as much of a surprise. Alex Carey failed to make an impact for the Delhi Capitals at the 2020 IPL while Jason Roy pulled out ahead of the start of the tournament. Sandeep Lamichhane and Keemo Paul were also not favoured by head coach Ricky Ponting in last year's campaign.

Bowling all-rounder Daniel Sams has also been traded by the Delhi Capitals to the Royal Challengers Bangalore despite being retained.

Marcus Stoinis, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who were three of the Delhi Capitals' most important players last season, have all been retained. England bowler Chris Woakes will also stay with the capitals even though he did not play in the 2020 IPL. West Indies power-hitter Shimron Hetmyer is the fifth overseas player the Delhi side have retained.

The Delhi Capitals have retained the majority of their Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and captain Shreyas Iyer. They will also be boosted by the return of Ishant Sharma, who suffered an injury in the 2020 IPL.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel are the spin-bowling options in the side ahead of the 2021 IPL auction. The team management will no doubt be keen on signing an overseas batsman and perhaps an Indian pacer at the auction.

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Delhi Capitals' retained and released list ahead of 2021 IPL

Retained: Marcus Stoinis, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Praveen Dubey, Anrich Nortje, Harshal Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Daniel Sams, Avesh Khan, Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra

Released: Alex Carey, Jason Roy, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Tushar Deshpande