The second season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) got off to a sensational start with the local talent fresh off IPL success being rewarded for their performances at a higher level after shining through in the state tournament in the inaugural edition. Simarjeet Singh (Rs 39 Lakh), the right-arm pacer, who was one of the key reasons behind East Delhi Riders winning the first edition of the DPL, was the most expensive pick of the long one-day auction with Central Delhi Kings picking him up, alongside getting back Yash Dhull in the marquee set.
Digvesh Rathi, another popular name, who had a sensational debut season in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants, was one of the stars for the South Delhi Superstarz, who reached the final. Superstarz got him back for a hefty paycheque of Rs 38 Lakh. Priyansh Arya, another star for the Superstarz last year wasn't retained, but was drafted by one of the two new teams, Outer Delhi Warriors, pre-auction. Himmat Singh got the Shreyas Iyer treatment as despite winning the title last year as captain, he wasn't retained by the East Delhi Riders but drafted by the second new team, the New Delhi Tigers.
Singh was joined by another impressive rookie pacer, Prince Yadav for Rs 33 Lakh, who was with Purani Dilli-6 last year and made a mark in the IPL for LSG. Among the retained players, East Delhi retained Anuj Rawat, Rishabh Pant was retained by Purani Dilli-6 and Harshit Rana stayed at the North Delhi Strikers. Apart from Pant and Rana, another Indian international will be seen in DPL 2025, Ishant Sharma. Sharma didn't play the last season but was picked by the West Delhi Lions. Lions splurged a decent sum of money on the returning Nitish Rana, Rs 34 Lakh and the left-hander is likely to be their captain.
Arya at Outer Delhi was joined by the two-time IPL champion Suyash Sharma and young hard-hitting batter Harsh Tyagi. Navdeep Saini, another international quick in the mix, left the Lions for East Delhi and is likely to fill in for Simarjeet. DDCA President Rohan Jaitley was excited with the prospect of the new and bigger second edition of the DPL, especially with the fact that it gave players like Priyansh Arya and Digvesh Rathi a platform to shine.
"Last year, we pulled off a successful first season in a limited window, thanks to the hard work of everyone involved. This year, we’ve gone a step further—revisiting our auction system, broadening the player base, and elevating domestic cricket to ensure the best talent emerges. We’ve also added two new men’s franchises, continuing our mission to offer top-quality competitive cricket," Jaitley said.
The second edition of the DPL will kick off in second week of August and is likely to be wrapped up before the Asia Cup, in the final week of the month.