"When Delhi's overseas players are available, they will be a dangerous side" - Nikhil Chopra on IPL 2022's strong teams

Former Indian cricketer Nikhil Chopra reckons that Delhi Capitals (DC) will be a strong contender to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 trophy once their overseas players are available.

Australia’s David Warner and Mitchell Marsh and South Africa’s Anrich Nortje are key members of the Delhi outfit for the 2022 season. All-rounder Marsh is set to join the DC squad after being ruled out of the remaining ODIs in Pakistan. Once with the franchise, Marsh will continue his recovery from a hip flexor injury.

Warner is likely to be available from April 6 as per Cricket Australia’s (CA) NOC. As per some media reports, Nortje, who is already with the DC squad and is recovering from a hip injury, is likely to be fit by April 7.

Sharing his thoughts on the DC squad for IPL 2022, Chopra said on the Khelneeti podcast:

“I feel Delhi Capitals (DC) are a good side. In fact, when Delhi’s overseas players are available, they will be a dangerous side. I have no doubt about that.”

Despite the absence of their overseas players, DC managed to get the better of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first match of this season. They chased down a target of 178 with four wickets in hand.

On the other IPL teams that are looking good, the former India off-spinner added:

“Rajasthan’s combination in both bowling and batting is looking very strong. In the bowling department, they have good pacers and spinners too. Even Punjab are looking strong.”

Asked whether he sees a new team winning the competition this year, Chopra made an interesting observation and replied:

“There is only one IPL-winning captain in the tournament this season, which is Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Rohit Sharma. None of the others have a trophy in their hands with Ravindra Jadeja taking over from MS Dhoni. So let’s hope.”

DC will face the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the MCA Stadium in Pune on April 2nd, according to the IPL schedule.

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“Punjab and Rajasthan are looking very strong this time” - Rajkumar Sharma analyzes IPL 2022 squads

Earlier, speaking on the same podcast, Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma named the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as two of the strongest sides in the IPL 2022 season.

Explaining his views, he said:

“Punjab and Rajasthan are looking very strong this time. The formation of these teams is such that they have quite a few impact players. Both teams have at least 3-4 match-winners, who can win a contest on their own. These two sides can surprise any team on their day and look good to make the playoffs.”

Punjab have not reached the playoffs since 2014, while Rajasthan’s last playoff appearance was in 2018. Both sides got off to an impressive start in IPL 2022, winning their respective opening encounters.