IPL Preview | Delhi Capitals

For the past eleven seasons, Delhi has been the team that despite being a talented side found it difficult to finish at the top consistently, finishing in top three just thrice.

Every single time, whenever the squad is out, the team looks better on papers but there’s something the team would lack on a particular day and loses the match.

Talking about this year, the team do look balanced and great on papers this year as well. They have game changers but can they perform consistently?

Shreyas Iyer will lead the team for the entire season for the first time and with the form he is been in, this will be an excitingly good role for him as he likes to lead from the front. The Mumbai batsman has improved a lot while it comes to power hitting and bagged a few runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With the addition of Shikhar Dhawan to the team, who will be desperate to get a few runs especially keeping an eye on the World Cup which is just weeks away. It is important from the Indian team perspective that he shines.

Considering the World Cup, Shikhar Dhawan must open the innings along with Colin Munro or Prithvi Shaw.

The Middle Order looks solid as well with Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant, followed by a good number of all-rounders and the bowlers.

Just like last year, The 18-year-old Sandeep Lamichchane will be darkhorse along with the veteran Amit Mishra.

Strengths:

1. With two of the best captains Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly, this relatively young team is in good hands and will definitely learn a lot from them.
2. As mentioned, being a relatively young team, they might find the trouble of being inconsistent just like they were in the past years. It will be interesting to see who takes up the anchor role if the game demanded one because almost all the players in the team are power-hitters and their approach might fail in a few games.
3. Bowlers will be the key. In Trent Boult, Rabada, Morris they have a great pace bowling attack.
4. The form of Shreyas Iyer. The captain has done well in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and will be looking to play a vital role here as well.
5. Rishabh Pant made heads turn with his run hunt in the last season. He must continue to do the same this year as well.

Weaknesses:

1. Inconsistency has been the team’s weakness for years now. With the inclusion of Shikhar Dhawan, that might change a bit. Prithvi Shaw has just recovered from the injury and the lack of match practice might be a factor as well.
2. The team’s best bowlers are majorly foreign players. Ishant Sharma’s presence will provide them with some experience, but his numbers in limited-overs cricket aren’t great. They also have Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Harshal Patel and Bandaru Ayyappa but it will be interesting to see who becomes Shreyas Iyer’s go-to bowler.
3. Rahul Tewatia was underutilised in the last IPL. He is a good lower order batsman and Delhi shouldn’t miss the knack of making him play. He recently scored a fifty in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Can the change of name bring the change of fortune too? Let’s wait and watch.

Probable XI:
Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult/ Colin Munro/Colin Ingram, Sandeep Lamichchane, Rahul Tewatia/ Amit Mishra, Nathu Singh