IPL 2021, Delhi Capitals - Team Preview: Can DC end trophy drought under Rishabh Pant's captaincy?
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Delhi Capitals, IPL 2021 Team Preview: Delhi Capitals are one of the franchises that are yet to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. While they finished as the runners-up in IPL 2020 in the UAE, DC would be looking to go all the way in the 14th edition of IPL under the captaincy of young and exciting Rishabh Pant.
Delhi Capitals are one of the franchises that are yet to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. While they finished as the runners-up in IPL 2020 in the UAE, DC would be looking to go all the way in the 14th edition of IPL under the captaincy of young and exciting Rishabh Pant.
Shreyas Iyer’s injury comes as a massive blow to DC and with the regular skipper out for the season, Pant has been given the charge to lead an extremely strong squad on paper. While Iyer’s absence does shake up the team combination a bit, the Delhi outfit has a variety of skill-sets in their squad, well capable of filling Iyer’s boots.
Openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan’s good run of form leading into the cash-rich tournament comes as a welcome sign for DC ahead of the tournament and fans would be hoping to see the duo go all guns blazing.
Ajinkya Rahane is likely to bat at number three in Iyer’s absence and it could result in Steve Smith missing out from the playing XI for the majority part of the season. However, it would be tough for Ricky Ponting-coached outfit to bench quality player like Smith in every match.
The quality and exuberance of Shimron Hetmyer and an in-form Rishabh Pant would excite DC fans and the duo has all the abilities to win matches for their side single-handedly. Marcus Stoinis following Hetmyer and Pant makes the team balance even more lethal, something which was witnessed by all in IPL 2020.
With Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra to follow, DC have the perfect mix and variety in the spin department. A left-arm spinner, off-spinner and wrist-spinner, DC have ticked all the boxes when it comes to spinning the web around the batters.
The pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje was one of the key reasons behind DC’s success last season. Even though the South African pacers are likely to miss the opening match, they are expected to lead the pace bowling duties throughout the season.
Chris Woakes and Tom Curran provide options to strengthen the batting and bowling unit with their quality. Whereas Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are likely to battle for a single spot in the XI.
Overall, the Delhi Capitals look extremely well-balanced on paper and are expected to qualify for the playoffs. Anything less than that would be a major disappointment.
Delhi Capitals: Squad
Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings