3 DC players in IPL 2025 who were earlier in KKR ft. Mitchell Starc

After Vaibhav Suryavanshi's fireworks in Jaipur, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 caravan has now moved to New Delhi, where the Delhi Capitals (DC) host the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). This Match 48 will be played tonight (April 29) from 7:30 PM IST onwards.

The defending champions are in massive trouble, having failed to win their last three games. They lost two back-to-back encounters before rain forced them to share the two points with the Punjab Kings.

Delhi, meanwhile, did lose their last game from a winning position against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru but are still very much in contention for a playoff spot. Fascinatingly, there are a few players in the current DC setup who will have their tails up facing their former franchise KKR.

On that note, let us look at three of those current Delhi players who were previously part of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise.

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#3 Dushmantha Chameera (2024)

2025 IPL - Lucknow Super Giants v Delhi Capitals - Source: Getty Images

Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera has played three IPL seasons so far - all for different franchises. He started with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2022 before going unsold the next season.

He went unsold in 2024 as well before an injury to Gus Atkinson opened the doors for him in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) setup. The 33-year-old came in as a replacement player for Rs 50 lac and got to play just a single game, where he went wicketless.

At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Chameera was signed by Delhi for Rs 75 lac. Although signed majorly as a backup to Mitchell Starc, Chameera has played two games so far at IPL 2025.

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#2 Kuldeep Yadav (2014-2020)

2025 IPL - Delhi Capitals v Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Source: Getty

Kuldeep Yadav made his name during his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who signed the wrist spinner back in 2014. He waited till 2016 for his maiden opportunity before bamboozling everyone.

Kuldeep's time at KKR could be divided into two halves. In the first three seasons (2016-2018), he was simply unplayable, taking 35 wickets at a strike rate of near 17. However, Kuldeep's returns massively diminished following that.

Batters started to read him and he was missing that cutting edge. Hence in his last two seasons for KKR, Kuldeep managed to take just five wickets. Injuries ruled him out of IPL 2021 before KKR got him off the books.

Delhi Capitals showed faith in Kuldeep and signed him for a mere Rs 2 crore. Since then, he's been absolutely fantastic, forcing DC to even retain him for Rs 13.25 crore ahead of IPL 2025. So far for Delhi, Kuldeep has churned out 59 wickets at an economy of 7.8 across 48 innings.

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#1 Mitchell Starc (2024)

2024 IPL Final - Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad - Source: Getty Images

Here comes a player on whom the Kolkata Knight Riders spent almost one quarter of their auction purse in 2024. Making his return in IPL cricket after almost a decade, Starc was one of the most sought-after players at IPL 2024 auction.

He gained massive traction when KKR splashed a record ₹24.75 crore to sign him. While many critics questioned the decision to spend such an amount on him, fascinatingly, Starc saved his best for KKR. He single-handedly demolished oppositions in the knockouts and also in the final.

Starc was the Player of the Match in both Qualifier 1 and the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), making every penny spent on him worth it for KKR. The franchise didn't retain the Australian maestro before Delhi picked him for Rs 11.75 crore. So far, Starc is having a magnificent IPL 2025, having taken 11 wickets at a strike rate of 17.45.