3 Delhi Capitals players who might be benched in IPL 2026

Delhi Capitals (DC) consists of a strong batting core and a great combination of overseas and domestic bowlers to complement their batters. The side from the capital city came agonisingly close to qualifying for the playoffs last year, where they finished fifth, just one point away from the top four.

This year, DC have kept hold of their main core whilst making some good additions to their squad which include David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Ben Duckett. When the probable starters are in excellent form, it makes it harder for fringe players to break into the team.

However, doors are never locked for any player, and they can easily feature for their franchise due to injuries or impressing during training and net sessions. 

Here are 3 DC players who might be benched for entire IPL 2026:

3. Kyle Jamieson (Right arm Fast medium)

With Mitchell Starc likely to miss the start of the 2026 IPL season, there could be an opportunity for other overseas seamers like Kyle Jamieson to break into the side. The Kiwi, however, could be further down the pecking order despite the non-availability of Starc. The likes of Ngidi and Dushmantha Chameera had better performances in the recent times, picking 12 and 10 wickets at the T20 World Cup, respectively. 

Jamieson’s form for New Zealand has been underwhelming to say the least. He played just once at the T20 World Cup and in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, the 31-year-old has picked up just five wickets from four games. 

2. Karun Nair (Middle order Batter)

DC’s batting lineup is packed to the brim with star players. The middle order will most likely consist of the likes of Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller with Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam as finishers. This does not bode well with Karun Nair, who might not break into the playing XI from the get-go.

DC have also traded in Nitish Rana from Rajasthan Royals, who can play as a floater for the franchise, a role he is quite used to playing in the IPL before for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Nair played eight times for DC last year and scored 198 runs at a strike-rate above 170. However, his recent T20 form has been poor, scoring just 71 runs from six matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

1. Prithvi Shaw (Top order Batter)

After going unsold in the 2025 mega auction, Prithvi Shaw has been granted yet another lifeline by DC, picking him up towards the end of the mini auction for his base price of INR 75 lakhs. Earlier, he was DC’s main opener.

Things are, however, a lot different coming into the 2026 IPL season. The team now has a strong opening pair in the form of KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka. The 26-year-old will also face the same issue as Nair in order to break into the middle order. 

Shaw’s recent domestic form has also blown hot and cold. The right-hander scored 183 runs in seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Maharashtra at an average of just 26.14.