Jammu and Kashmir pace bowler Auqib Nabi Dar hit the jackpot in the IPL 2026 mini auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Auqib went for 28-times his base price and was ultimately bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 8.4 crore after major interest from Rajasthan Royals Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 29-year-old from Barmulla has claimed 43 wickets in his T20 cricket in 34 matches so far at an average of 21.81. He has also picked up 125 wickets in 36 matches in first-class cricket at an average of 19.98. Speaking on ‘TATA IPL Auction Review’ JioStar experts Anil Kumble along with Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal praised DC’s targeted strategy and hailed Auqib Nabi Dar’s long-awaited break on the IPL stage. Speaking on JioHotstar Delhi Capitals Co-owner Parth Jindal detailed how the team addressed key gaps at the auction. “We came into the auction with a clear plan and a wish list. We strengthened where we needed. We wanted an experienced finisher and you cannot do better than David Miller. Getting him early at an incredible price was great. We are excited to have Tristan Stubbs and David Miller in the middle order one is a young upcoming player and the other is very experienced. “We needed a good opening batter who can score quickly in the powerplay and Ben Duckett is perfect for that role. He has made a name for himself and even reverse sweeps in Test cricket. Another problem we had last season was not taking enough wickets in the powerplay. Often Axar Patel or Vipraj Nigam had to bowl early because opposition teams got good starts. We needed someone who swings the ball and gets early breakthroughs and we found Auqib Dar as the perfect candidate to play that role and thats the reason why we tracked him throughout the entirety of the current domestic cricket season. He is an exciting talent and we went all out for him. We are really happy to get a player from Jammu and Kashmir” Parth Jindal added. JioStar expert Anil Kumble explained why the Delhi Capitals auction strategy was effective.  “Delhi Capitals have done very well. The question after a big auction is: did you strengthen the team or just change names? DC have strengthened it. Last season Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis did not fire at the top. Now they have Pathum Nissanka who is in top form for Sri Lanka and they brought in the left-hander Ben Duckett. “They also added support for Mitchell Starc; Natarajan did not play much last season so they brought in Lungi Ngidi and a top domestic performer Auqib Dar. To fix their finisher problem they got David Miller which is a good move. Prithvi Shaw is also back so they have that option at the top of the innings” Kumble felt. On the acquisition of Nitish Rana Kumble said “Getting Nitish Rana before the auction was a good move. He is a home boy who understands the conditions hes a left-hander and he can bat at three or four. I think he will want to prove himself in Delhi. He has won with KKR and Delhi has not won at all so I am sure he would like to do that for his home team. Overall they had a good auction. They have fortified their lineup and from last season to this one the team certainly looks stronger on paper.”