Like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals too have been considered one of the most unfortunate teams in the Indian Premier League. The franchise boasts the biggest names in the sport yet have not managed to get over the line. Though, DC have shown glimpses of their real potential when they ended their league stage at the third position. The lack of inexperience in the play-offs took a toll on their chances to make it to the grand finals.
The team now under the management of the Former Australian captain Ricky Pointing has shown great signs of improvement and this around time the young captain Shreyas Iyer and Co. will definitely look to turn the table in their favor.
With just a week left for the IPL to take the stage. Cricwizz takes a look at the probable playing Xl for the Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals Squad:
Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpand
Probable playing Xl for DC:
Openers (Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw/Ajinkya Rahane)
Delhi Capitals are one of the few teams who have a lot of players who can open the innings and that should be a good headache for team going to the tournament. Despite having many options once certainty to open the innings would be the Indian Opener Shikhar Dhawan. The 34-year old needs no profiling to grab the top order. With almost a decade years of experience and ability to stroke the ball like none makes him the opener all teams would want.
With the roping of Ajinkya Rahane in the team, it would be a great dilemma for the management to go with the attacking batsman Prithivi Shaw or the Stroke-playing Rahane. It is no doubt the form factor of these two could come to play, It would not be surprising to Rahane make the cut as he holds vast experience and maybe even could bat down the order giving way to the 20-year old.
Middle Order(Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetymer)
The 25-year old Shreyas Iyer will again be the key player to watch out for. He will be the role of the anchor which he does very well and ever since he has taken up the role of the captain he has turned out to be more reliable with the bat. He was one of the highest run-getters for DC in the last season and looking at his current form it would not be a surprise that he will replicate the same.
Rishabh Pant currently stands as the most expensive player in the DC squad and also the third most expensive player in the tournament along with CSK captain MS Dhoni. The 22-year old Wicket-keeper batsman is already compared to MS Dhoni and is likely to take up the role for India in the upcoming years. Though his inconsistency with the bat has been a major issue for his progress. The left-hander will surely look to turn the tables in his favour especially with the T20 World Cup coming up.
The West Indian Prodigy Shimron Hetmyer has made it to the headlines several times starting from the time he single-handedly dismantled India in a T20I. The 23-year old was up in the auctions for a base price of 50 lakhs but his potential was way more than that which DC management did not fail to take a note and offered a whopping 7.75 crores to the West Indian.
All- Rounders (Marcus Stonis and Chris Woakes)
The 31-year old Australian all-rounder Marcus Stonis is one of the best all-rounders in the world currently. He is considered as a limited-overs specialist and often compared to Shane Watson. He can hit the ball very hard and also take some stunning catches. To add to the delight of the DC management, the right-hander is in very good form as he was seen dominating the bowlers in the Big Bash.
Chris Woakes is likely to take the No.7 for the DC but the West Indian Keemo Paul will also be contending for the spot. Both seem to be in elite form and they seem very difficult to separate on the basis of their stats. The optimal decision could likely be to rotate these two players so as to find the right fit.
Bowlers (Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada)
The Delhi Capitals always have a very strong and experienced bowling line-up. The inclusion of former Kings Xl Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin to the side makes the bowling stronger and the off-spinner will be leading the spin attack along with yet another experienced player Axar player. The off spin and leg spin combination will definitely prove to be a challenging one for the batsmen especially given the conditions in UAE favours spinners vastly.
This also takes the DC batting line-up to No.9 as both Axar Patel and Ashwin are genuine all-rounders. Patel as seen in IPL can clear the boundary at ease and the former CSK star is well known for his stroke playing ability and also has on various occasions opened the batting for his domestic side.
Kagiso Rabada has been the key player for the DC in the last season and one of the reasons for them to finish third in the table. The proteas speedster claimed a jaw-dropping 25 wickets in the 12 matches, finishing just one wicket less than the purple cap winner Imran Tahir. Rabada together with the Indian Spearhead Ishant Shama could prove a deadly combination for the opposition team as both the bowlers have an attacking line and length.
Cover Credits: IPLT20
