"He will in all probability bat at No. 4" - Sanjay Bangar on Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Former India player Sanjay Bangar has opined that Sameer Rizvi might bat at No. 4 for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2026. He also reckoned that the franchise can afford to have only three overseas players in its starting XI in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

Rizvi was one of the players retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The IPL 2020 finalists, who have a remaining purse of ₹21.80 crore, can buy at most eight players, including five overseas, in the mini auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16.

During an interaction on Star Sports, Bangar noted that while Rizvi will potentially bat at No. 4 for the Delhi Capitals, the franchise would need to acquire a top-order batter.

"Rizvi clearly makes the team. He will in all probability bat at No. 4 because he is quite impressive at that particular number. This is the team that can start the playing XI with only three overseas players. No. 1 priority would be somebody batting at the top of the order," he said.

The former India all-rounder reckoned that DC's acquisition of Nitish Rana from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) should hold them in good stead.

"Having traded Nitish, he can come in at No. 3, which gives them a good mix of right-left throughout the top order. If there is no Nitish, all the top order could end up being right-handers, at least the top five. So Nitish can fit in quite well and he is a Delhi guy. On those lowish surfaces, he can be quite effective for this franchise," Bangar reasoned.

DC traded in Rana from RR for ₹4.20 crore ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The left-handed batter had mixed returns in IPL 2025, scoring 217 runs at a strike rate of 161.94 in 11 innings.

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"Maybe Jonny Bairstow is not a bad choice for the Delhi Capitals" - Sanjay Bangar

Jonny Bairstow played two games for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same interaction, Sanjay Bangar named Jonny Bairstow as a potential target for the Delhi Capitals, while opining that KL Rahul would continue to bat at the top of the order.

"The prime target for them would be a top-order batter. If it's a wicketkeeper-batter, they will be happy. If he can field well, that's also fine. Maybe Jonny Bairstow is not a bad choice for the Delhi Capitals. Rahul stays at the top of the order," he said.

The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach added that DC have a formidable middle order.

"They have quality in the middle order because they have Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel. Ashutosh Sharma has left his impact and Vipraj Nigam has also shown that he can contribute with the bat. Add to that Mitchell Starc's recent Ashes exploits, just reminds you that he has got this batting ability as well. So get an overseas who can bat well at Delhi," Bangar elaborated.

To conclude, Sanjay Bangar noted that a slight question mark about Jonny Bairstow would be that the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi might not be ideal for him. However, he opined that the Delhi Capitals are unlikely to start with Karun Nair or Abishek Porel at the top of the order.