Delhi Capitals confirm no trades for Axar Patel and Ashutosh Sharma ahead of IPL 2027

Delhi Capitals told India Today on November 10, 2026 that they will not trade Axar Patel or Ashutosh Sharma ahead of the IPL 2027 retention deadline. The franchise said both players will remain with Delhi and has closed its trading window, with no further player exchanges planned before the retention cutoff.

Speculation in recent weeks had linked Axar to Chennai Super Kings and reported interest in Ashutosh from other franchises, but India Today sources confirmed neither will be moved. The decision resolves the immediate transfer rumours but leaves other squad matters unresolved.

“There will be no more trades as far as Delhi Capitals are concerned,” a source told India Today.

Axar’s IPL 2026 numbers were mixed with the bat and steady with the ball: he scored 173 runs in 14 matches at an average of 19.22 and a strike rate of 131.06, and took 11 wickets in 13 innings at an economy rate of 8.18. Ashutosh scored 171 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 181.91, underlining his role as a middle-order power-hitter.

On leadership, the franchise faces a decision despite retaining Axar, who led Delhi last season; Rishabh Pant has returned to the squad after being traded from Lucknow Super Giants and KL Rahul is also identified as a leadership option. India Today understands Delhi have not taken a final call on captaincy for IPL 2027 and that keeping Axar does not automatically resolve the issue.

Delhi have already been involved in completed exchanges this window: Pant returned from Lucknow Super Giants with Kuldeep Yadav moving to LSG, and T Natarajan joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in exchange for Zeeshan Ansari. Separately, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad completed a four-player trade that saw Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards move to CSK while Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis joined SRH.

The proposed swap between Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh remains the largest deal still awaiting formal confirmation; India Today has learnt the trade is nearing completion but still requires official approval. All 10 franchises have until November 17 to submit their retained and released player lists for IPL 2027.

With trades now closed for Delhi, the franchise has shifted focus to finalising its squad composition and settling the captaincy question ahead of the November 17 retention deadline.