Delhi Daredevils are known to be a team who spend big. From the last few years, they have made some of the biggest buys. Yuvraj Singh was a showstopper when he was bought for 16 crores by Delhi
Similarly, the Devils also shelled out whopping sums for some players, who never contributed to the team’s cause. Despite being coached by Gary Kirsten for a certain period of time, Delhi have never made a mark in the tournament.
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However this year, there have been certain changes. In Paddy Upton, they have a very experienced coach and with Rahul Dravid, one of the coolest characters on and off the field, taking up the mentorship role, the experienced campaigner in Zaheer Khan will be all set to don the captaincy role.
With these men in the squad, DD will certainly have their chins up and would have received a major boost en-route to gunning for the top spot.
The fact that Carlos Brathwaite, who was bought by 4.2 crores is also a great sign for DD as his all-round abilities will be very useful for the Daredevils. Players like Quinton De Kock, Shreyas Iyer, and Imran Tahir will be banked upon for timely and consistent performances too.
Although Delhi have reached the semifinals on three occasions 2008, 2009 and 2012, their performances since 2012 have been quite disappointing. However this year, Delhi fans will be hoping for some revival in fortunes with some added experience and mentoring in the squad.
How did the auctions go for them?
Having started slow, it seemed as if DD would never buy a player. However, once the all-rounders section popped up, Delhi came out charging and made some surprisingly big buys.
India all-rounder Pawan Negi was sold for a massive 8.5 crore bracket, Chris Morris was acquired for 7 crores and latest sensation Carlos Brathwaite was snapped up for 4.2 crores. Uncapped Indian players too found big money as Sanju Samson and Karun Nair were bought for a price of greater than 4 crores.
Strengths:
The batting looks well settled with openers Quinton De Kock and Shreyas Iyer playing their parts in previous editions of the IPL. JP Duminy has been tremendous for them, and DD will be relying on him as well to provide the goods.
The uncapped players are a proven lot, with the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Sanju Samson piloting their domestic sides with great success. The bowling also looks good with captain Zaheer Khan and leg-spinning Imran Tahir adding some international flavour to the attack.
Indian pacer Mohammed Shami will also be raring to go after his injury layoff, and his return will be one to look out for.
Weaknesses:
Although the Delhi squad have had classy and potential players, the team has never gelled together to bring out a winning blueprint which could be a sweating factor on the players heads.
It will be the job of the captain and mentor to make sure the players keep their cool and perform.
Franchise details:
Owner : GMR group
Captain : Zaheer Khan
Home : Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, Delhi and Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur
History : 2008- Semifinalists, 2009- Semifinalists, 2010- League stage, 2011- Bottom of the table, 2012- league stages, 2013- Bottom of the table, 2014- Bottom of the table, 2015- 7th place, 2016- ?
Delhi Daredevils schedule for IPL 9:
| Date | Opposition | Venue | Time |
10th April 2016 15th April 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab | Eden Gardens, Kolkata Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 20:00 20:00 |
| 17th April 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | 20:00 |
| 23rd April 2016 | Mumbai Indians | Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 16:00 |
| 27th April 2016 | Gujarat Lions | Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 20:00 |
| 30th April 2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 16:00 |
| 3rd May 2016 | Gujarat Lions | Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot | 20:00 |
| 5th May 2016 | Rising Pune Super Giants | Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi | 20:00 |
| 7th May 2016 | Kings XI Punjab | Vidharbha Cricket Association, Nagpur | 20:00 |
| 12th May 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 20:00 |
| 15th May 2016 | Mumbai Indians | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 16:00 |
| 17th May 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune | 20:00 |
| 20th May 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Naya Raipur | 20:00 |
| 22nd May 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Naya Raipur | 20:00 |
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