IPL 2026: Rehan Ahmed joins Delhi Capitals as Ben Duckett's replacement

Delhi Capitals (DC) have picked wrist spinner Rehan Ahmed as a replacement for Ben Duckett for the remainder of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). Duckett was bought for Rs 2 Crore by DC at the mini auction ahead of the season as he was all set to make his IPL debut.

However, the England opener pulled out of the tournament to focus on his game after enduring poor form across formats since September 2025. As a result, he's set to face a two-year ban from the IPL as per the tournament's player regulations for the 2025-27 seasons for pulling out after being sold at the auction.

In his place, DC have signed Rehan Ahmed for Rs 75 lakh, who will also be a part of the IPL for the first time. The 21-year-old has played five Tests, nine ODIs and 13 T20Is for England, taking 49 wickets in total.

He will join DC’s strong spin attack comprising of Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and off-spinner Tripurana Vijay. Rehan has picked up 23 wickets in 25 innings in the Hundred at an economy rate of 7.68. Apart from that, he has also plied his trade in the Big Bash League in Australia and the ILT20 in the UAE.

In his T20 career, Ahmed has scalped 85 wickets in total from 91 innings at an average of 28.11 and an economy of 8.13.

DC placed fifth on points table

Meanwhile, Delhi are placed fifth on the points table with three wins from six matches, having six points to their name. They began their campaign with back-to-back victories against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

However, successive losses against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got them astray before they found their rhythm against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

They were further hammered in their last fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Delhi will next take on the unbeaten Punjab Kings (PBKS) for their next fixture on Saturday, April 25 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.