Delhi Daredevils have been part of the Indian Premier League from the very start but it remains to be the only teams who are yet to enter the finals of the tournament. This is their 12th shot at the title. They leave everything behind, the team made an interesting call late last year when they changed the name of the franchise to Delhi Capitals, an interesting but kind of unusual name and expectedly, it drew a lot of attention on the social media.
Delhi Capital appointed Shreyas Iyer after the regular skipper Gautam Gambhir opted to sit out of the team because of lack of performance. While the likes of Rishabh Pant and Trent Boult had a terrific tournament, the whole team could not come together and perform collectively. With just 5 wins in 14 games, the side remained last in the points table.
However, that can change now. Skipper Iyer is in red hot form right now. He piled runs at will during the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he notched up 2 centuries and a half-century in 10 games. However, If Delhi has to change the fortunes this time around, the whole team will have to tune up and perform collectively.
The top-order
Delhi have its local boy Shikhar Dhawan returning home where he will be partnering young sensation, Prithvi Shaw. They also have destructive Colin Munro in the mix as a backup option at the top.
The explosive middle order
The middle order of the team consists of in-form skipper Iyer, explosive Rishabh Pant who was second highest run-getter during the last season of the tournament. Delhi will be happy to have Colin Ingram. The South African last played an IPL during the 2011 edition of the tournament for the same side. However, he returns to the IPL mania as one of the most experienced T20 players across the world.
20-year-old Sherfane Rutherford had kept his base price to 40 Lakh prior to the auction. He would've had never imagined that two sides will try to buy to a level where he will be sold for 2 Crore, a 5-fold increment. He along with Chris Morris and Axar Patel will be playing important roles in the side as all-rounders. Likes of Keemo Paul and Likes of Kemo Paul and Harshal Patel can be used in the side as and when needed for the all-rounder's role.
The bowling department
Trent Boult along with Kagiso Rabada will be leading the pack of the seamers which consists of Indian Test bowler Ishant Sharma and Avesh Khan. Boult would be happy to have Rabada alongside him whom he missed the entire last season after the South African had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury.
The spin cordon of Delhi will be guarded by veteran spinner Amit Mishra along with Nepalese sensation Sandeep Lamichhane who has been playing a lot of T20 tournaments across the globe. Axar Patel's inclusion will further strengthen the spin department of Delhi Capitals.
Possible XI
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Colin Ingram, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Sherfane Rutherford,/Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma
As Delhi began their campaign against Mumbai Indians and won their first match. It will be interesting to see if the change in the name brings any change in the results for Delhi Capitals.
