Delhi Capitals recover stolen bats & other equipment, culprits found, Warner confirms

David Warner and Phil Salt in between the wickets (Pic: AFP)

Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner on Friday confirmed most of the cricket gear, which had been stole in transit from Bengaluru to Delhi a few days back, had been recovered. The franchise discovered the theft of their cricketing gear, including bats, pads and gloves, running into lakhs of rupees after they reached the national capital following their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 15.

Warner had posted a message on social media about the theft, giving details about the items stolen.

"Stolen. 16 bats along with pads, shoes, thigh pads, gloves were stolen from the Delhi Capitals' players kit bags. 3 bats belong to David Warner, 2 of Mitchell Marsh, three of Phil Salt and five of Yash Dhull," the Australian opener had written on social media.

The players learned about the matter a day later as their kit bags arrived from the cargo a day after. Most players have lost their bats, with at least five bats being stolen of batsman Yash Dhull alone. It has been learnt that the bats by overseas players are worth Rs. 1 lakh each. After the team officials learnt about the matter, they reported the theft to the police and a probe was ordered.

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The Capitals finally managed to break their string of five consecutive defeats on Thursday, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium here and a day later, Warner revealed that most of the gear had been recovered and the culprits "found".

"They found the culprits. Few (bats) missing still but thank you," he wrote on Friday.

This was, however, the first time that cricketing equipment has gone missing in bulk. The incident kindled humongous curiosity because the IPL usually hires a logistics company responsible for the smooth transfer of players' kit bags during travel between cities.

Delhi will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next IPL match in Hyderabad on April 24.

(With PTI inputs)