IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra names the 5 players the Delhi Capitals should retain

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked five players the Delhi Capitals should retain for IPL 2021 if there is a mega-auction before the tournament.

He shared these names while talking about the road ahead for the Delhi-based side in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

Aakash Chopra started by pointing out that the Delhi Capitals have shown that a good auction is the main ingredient of a successful IPL team with their brilliant acquisitions last time around.

"The Delhi Capitals' success shows that the acquisition of good players is half the job done. Here the story is that everything is good and if you break anything it will be wrong only, it cannot be good."

The renowned commentator observed that the youthful team the Delhi Capitals assembled at the last auction is now an experienced unit, and that a mega-auction might result in them losing some of their key players.

"But that's the story of this team, it was a young team three years ago but is now an experienced team after three years. When you shake up an experienced team, somewhere or the other the things will become less."

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Aakash Chopra's take on the players the Delhi Capitals should retain for IPL 2021

Chopra observed that the Delhi Capitals might have to bid for Nortje at the auction [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra posed a question to himself about the five players the Delhi Capitals could look to retain for IPL 2021.

"If they have to retain 5 players, 3 Indians and 2 overseas, they don't have an uncapped player whom they will think of retaining."

The 43-year-old picked Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant as the three Indian players that the Delhi Capitals might look to retain, even though the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman did not have a great IPL 2020.

"I would say Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant as the three Indians although Rishabh Pant did not have a good year but I will definitely retain him and I am pretty sure that the Delhi Capitals will also do that."

Marcus Stoinis and Kagiso Rabada got the former KKR player's vote as the two overseas professionals the Delhi Capitals could retain, with the former just edging out Anrich Nortje.

"If I have to retain two overseas players, I will be keen to retain Marcus Stoinis and Kagiso Rabada. There could be a toss-up between Marcus Stoinis and Anrich Nortje but I will go with Marcus and try to buy back Nortje in the auction."

Aakash Chopra signed off by observing that the Delhi Capitals might have to let go of some of their other key players and try to get a few of them back at the IPL 2021 auction.

"The others will have to go. They will be a little sad about players like Prithvi Shaw, Ashwin and Axar Patel as they are two or three players they may want to keep in the team but I don't think it will be possible to keep all of them."

The Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals are the two teams that are likely to be adversely affected if there happens to be a mega-auction before IPL 2021. The two franchises are likely to lose some of the key players from their well-rounded units, with the other outfits expected to have larger remaining purses.