DPL Under Threat After Dev Chaudhary’s Selection; Virat Kohli’s Childhood Coach Dragged

The DPL Trophy and Dev Chaudhary [Source: DPL website and X]

The Delhi Premier League 2026 has entered its business end, but the biggest conversation around the tournament is no longer about the performances of its established stars. Instead, an unfamiliar name has triggered questions about how players can enter one of Delhi's biggest cricketing platforms.

New Delhi Tigers batter Dev Chaudhary played only two matches in DPL 2026, scoring 0 off 2 balls and 16 off 24 balls. His unusual batting and fielding clips quickly spread across social media, but the criticism soon moved beyond his performances to the selections, rules and even the coach of the team, Rajkumar Sharma.

Questions began to emerge over how Dev Chaudhary was selected for the league in the first place. Now, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) has confirmed that the rule at the centre of the controversy will be reviewed after the tournament.

DPL rule comes under the scanner 

The DPL's tournament regulations allowed each of the eight franchises to select three players outside the auction, provided those players had featured in at least five DDCA League matches.

On paper, the rule was designed to give local cricketers another route into the competition. In practice, it created a selection route that led to corruption.

According to DDCA Apex Council member and lawyer Shyam Sharma, concerns over exactly this possibility had already been raised before the rule was approved.

"It has been an absolute shame. I was the first one who had raised my voice about this rule. They made a criteria that five DDCA League games would be enough to qualify for a place in DPL without auction.

"Now I had asked on the forum, what if that guy hasn't performed and picked. Dev Chaudhary has been exposed but there are many players like this who have come into the teams on recommendations," Apex Council member and noted lawyer Shyam Sharma alleged while speaking to PTI on Wednesday.

In a recent development, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma has said that the rule will be reviewed once the tournament concludes.

Also Read- Who Is Dev Chaudhary And What Are The Controversies Around Him In DPL 2026?

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach dragged in Dev Chaudhary case

The controversy surrounding Dev has now reached the New Delhi Tigers' dugout, with questions being raised about how the 22-year-old made it into the playing XI of a franchise coached by Dronacharya Awardee Rajkumar Sharma.

Rajkumar Sharma is widely known as Virat Kohli's childhood coach and has worked with several Delhi cricketers over the years. The club through which Chaudhary reportedly fulfilled the DDCA League requirement was Sporting Club.

While Sporting Club's head Amit Vashistha was unavailable for comment, a club source confirmed to PTI that Chaudhary had played a few league matches for them.

However, the source's account of his time at the club has raised even more questions about how he eventually reached the DPL.

"He was recommended by former India U19 and Delhi pacer Pradeep Sangwan. He played two games and after that one of our senior club official called his father and told him that 'Please don't send your son as he isn't good enough'. The father didn't ask any questions and Dev never came again," the club source told PTI.

The source further revealed that Dev Chaudhary's eventual appearance in the DPL came as a surprise even to people associated with his former club.

"When we saw him playing DPL, we were stunned. How did someone like Rajkumar Sharma allow this to happen?" the source questioned.

Rajkumar Sharma is yet to respond to questions over Chaudhary's selection

The New Delhi Tigers are coached by Rajkumar Sharma, with Bantoo Singh serving as the assistant coach.

That has naturally put the spotlight on the franchise's decision to hand Chaudhary an opening role in the DPL 2026, particularly after his failures. 

PTI reported that Rajkumar Sharma did not respond to multiple WhatsApp messages or calls seeking an explanation over how Dev Chaudhary, who had little known performance at the Delhi League level, made it into the playing XI.

Also Read- Indian Players In ETPL 2026- Teams, Squads, Record In T20 Leagues