IPL 2025 Auction: Delhi Capitals Head Coach Badani Hails Rahul and Starc as World-Class Players

Delhi Capitals made two important purchases during the initial half of Day 1 of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction in Jeddah. The franchise bought Australia's Mitchell Starc for Rs 11.75 crore while India's wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was acquired by the franchise for Rs 14 crore.

Pretty elated with the buys. Both KL and Starc are world-class players. In fact, they're battling each other right now in India versus Australia, so it's pretty interesting," said Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani after the buys.

"Starc is a match-winner, he's a wicket-taker, and couldn't be happier. And with KL Rahul again, somebody who we believe is a bankable player, will give you runs each season, has been somebody who's given or scored runs every IPL season. For me, at the moment, this is the best buy of the auction. But having said this, there's work to do," he added.

Speaking about the first session of the mega auction, Badani said, "The energy has been spot-on. We have been patient, we have been disciplined, we have been careful about spends, we have stuck to certain numbers that we had in mind. We have enough clarity as to how we go about this auction. And I think, as of now, we have reaped the rewards of being well-strategised and well-planned."

The first buy of the mega auction for Delhi Capitals was Starc, acquired for Rs 11.75 crore. The left-arm pacer was pivotal in Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2024 triumph. Over his career, he has taken 193 wickets in 142 T20 matches.

Speaking about the first session of the mega auction, Badani said: "The energy has been spot-on. We've been patient, we've been disciplined, we've been careful about spends, we've stuck to certain numbers that we had in mind. We have enough clarity as to how we go about this auction. And I think, as of now, we've kind of reaped the rewards of being well-strategised and well-planned."