New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS): Delhi Capitals (DC) have brought in former India cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj as their head of talent search ahead of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Bharadwaj’s appointment to the role comes just a day after ex-India fast-bowler Munaf Patel was unveiled as their new bowling coach.

In his role, Bharadwaj will be closely working with head coach Hemang Badani and director of cricket Venugopal Rao to see who are the domestic players DC can acquire in the IPL 2025 mega auction, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25, via the trials they hold in the run-up to finalising their auction strategy.

Bharadwaj, 49, was previously the assistant coach for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the first three seasons of the IPL. He then went on to be one of the managing members of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and be a regular fixture in Star Sports Kannada’s commentary-cum-expert panel.

In his playing days, he represented India in three Tests and ten ODIs as a right-handed batter who bowled handy off-spin. But Bharadwaj gained more prominence as a constant presence in the Karnataka side – playing 96 first-class matches and 72 List A games.

DC have retained the India duo of left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, South Africa batter Tristan Stubbs, and uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel.

They head into the IPL 2025 mega auction with a purse of INR 73 crore, the third-most amongst all ten teams. DC, who have never won an IPL title, would be aiming to create a team that can go all the way to the trophy in the upcoming three-year cycle after failing to make the playoffs in the last three IPL seasons.