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3 Teams That Could Target David Warner At IPL 2026 Auction

Sreejita Sen

Last updated: July 26, 2025

4 min read

He last appeared for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024.

The legendary Australian batter David Warner has seen a decline in his form in recent times. The fourth-highest run-scorer of the Indian Premier League (IPL) went unsold in the player auction ahead of the 2025 season. Though the batter was in great touch of form in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025, accumulating 368 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 153.97, he failed to carry on that momentum in the recently concluded Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025.

Coming to his legacy in the cash-rich league, Warner debuted in 2009 for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and continued to feature for them till IPL 2013. He scored 1,435 runs in 55 matches in his five-year stint with the franchise. But his prime in IPL 2024 came for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Warner was handed the leadership of the franchise in the following season, and he guided the team to their maiden title in IPL 2016. He continued to wear SRH colours till 2021 before moving to DC.

The southpaw has also won the Orange Cap thrice, in 2015, 2017, and 2019, which is the most for any batter in IPL history so far. The player last appeared for DC in the IPL 2024 and scored 168 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 134.40.

A player like Warner, who holds such a rich run-making talent, may be needed in the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at three IPL teams who might look to include David Warner in their squad ahead of the IPL 2026.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

The IPL 2024 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have been on the hunt to resolve their opening slot woes for a long time now. Previously, they had struggled to finalise their opening pair and had been seen to make quite a few changes during a single edition. Their third title-winning season is an exception, when the English opener Phil Salt and veteran Sunil Narine would provide a whirlwind start to their innings in almost every fixture of the tournament.

But Narine could not replicate his blazing form with the bat in the following season and scored only 246 runs in 12 matches this season at an average of 22.36. The other two players, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (74 runs in five matches) and Quinton de Kock (152 runs in eight matches), who KKR tried in the opening position, also failed to establish their place by putting up a remarkable performance.

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Mumbai Indians (MI)

The five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), had a great comeback in the middle of the season to reach the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2. They had a horrible outing in the previous edition, which ended with a bottom-place finish.

The former MI skipper, Rohit Sharma, enjoyed a great run of form with 418 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 149.29. His opening partner, Ryan Rickelton, also had a smashing debut IPL season for the franchise. The South African batter put up 388 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 150.97. However, the team might look to include David Warner as an extra opening choice ahead of the next IPL season.

Delhi Capitals (DC)

DC once again stumbled to continue their momentum after a strong start to their IPL 2025 campaign with four successive victories. They also had a dilemma regarding the opening slot and tried three combinations involving star wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, vice-captain Faf du Plessis, and youngster Abhishek Porel.

Delhi Capitals might also show an interest in including the 38-year-old in their squad for IPL 2026. Previously, Warner has piled up 1,116 runs in 34 matches during his latest three-year stint with the franchise since 2022. Moreover, the Australian player has also led the team in their usual captain, Rishabh Pant’s absence in IPL 2023.

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