10 players you might not know played for Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils have been one of the unluckiest teams in the history of the IPL. They have had a couple of years that went their way (2009 and 2012) but they have also had many seasons where they were stuck at the bottom of the points table struggling for wins.

So, what happened? Did they have such a horrible team that they just couldn’t win an IPL title? No. In fact, they’ve had a lot of great players who started their IPL career at Delhi Daredevils. However, poor team management combined with poor decision making led them to release these players, who then went on to have legendary IPL careers.

This post highlights some of those players who you probably didn’t know where once part of the DD camp. Maybe, in the process, we will uncover the reasons for their failures.

If there is any player that I may have left out then please feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section below.

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10. Mahela Jayawardene (2012-2014)

Mahela Jayawardene arrived at Delhi in 2012 - a camp where he spent 3 years. To redeem themselves after a poor performance in 2011, DD bought Mahela Jayawardene. His experience was going to be crucial to DD’s success in the coming years.

Although a lot rested on his shoulders, he couldn’t quite perform as well as his team had hoped. In 2012, he scored 335 runs in 16 matches. This was also one of Delhi’s best years in the IPL as they topped the points table.

He displayed a similar performance in 2013 scoring 331 runs in 15 matches with a poor strike-rate of 105.75. However, this year Delhi ended up at the bottom of the points table.

He didn’t get to play a single game in 2014 and was released the following year. This was also the last we had seen from him in the IPL.

9. Morne Morkel (2011-2013)

Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel played for Delhi Daredevils for 3 seasons from 2011 to 2013. Morkel did very well for Delhi, which is why it was surprising that they let him go.

The South African pacer picked up 13 wickets for Delhi in his first season with them an economy rate of 7.55. His performance couldn’t save Delhi from finishing last though.

In his second season with Delhi, he showed that he was determined to do better and be the spearhead of their bowling attack. This time he picked up 25 wickets from 16 matches. His bowling efforts ensured his side secured a spot in the playoffs. He picked wickets at crucial junctures and also won himself the Purple Cap. Clearly, that was his best year in the IPL.

However, he couldn’t repeat his feats in 2013, which was his worst year in the IPL. He picked up just 7 wickets from 10 games and wasn’t helpful to his side this time around. His poor bowling performance was one of the main reasons Delhi won three games in the entire season. They finished at the bottom of the points table yet again.

Delhi had enough and decided it was time to let him go. Morkel went on to play for Kolkata Knight Riders until 2016. Since then, he hasn’t featured in the cash-rich league.

8. Shikhar Drawn (2008)

Shikhar Dhawan

Many people may fondly associate Shikhar Dhawan with Sunrisers Hyderabad, but Gabbar once used to play for Delhi Daredevils. He only played for Delhi in the inaugural edition of the IPL.

He played 14 matches and scored 340 runs at an average of 37.77. He also scored 4 half centuries. His efforts paid off as Delhi qualified to the semi-finals, but Dhawan wasn’t retained for the next season.

This raised a lot of questions. He performed well and even went on to become a prolific opener for India, yet he wasn't retained. Maybe it was his poor strike-rate. He was striking at 115.25.

Delhi has this habit of making irrational decisions in the auctions. They had a lot of great players but didn’t give them time to settle into their roles within their franchise.

7. Aaron Finch (2011-2012)

Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch was purchased in the auction by Delhi Daredevils in 2011. His tenure at DD was disappointing, to say the least. He wasn’t given much of an opportunity to shine with the bat.

In 2011, he played only 6 games and scored a total of 47 runs at an average of 7.83. Maybe he would’ve done better had he been given a couple more matches. His poor performances and lack of confidence cost his team dearly.

His second season was pretty much the same. This time he played fewer games. He was only given 2 games and scored a total of 55 runs with an average of 27.50. He had already done better than his previous season, but still, Delhi decided that he only deserved two matches. Maybe they didn’t need him because since they were having a terrific season.

This was his last year for Delhi. He then went on to play for Pune Warriors India in 2013 where he had one of his best seasons to date. He scored 456 runs in 14 games.

6. Siddharth Kaul (2013-2014)

Siddharth Kaul

In 2013, 23-year-old Siddharth Kaul made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils. He was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2012 auction but never got a single game for them.

Finally, he got his first match for DD in 2013. However, his time in the DD camp wasn’t very memorable. He was only given 6 matches to showcase his skills, which wasn’t enough considering his level of experience.

He picked up 4 wickets in these 6 games with an economy of 7.78. This seems to be a trend that Delhi follows every year where they prematurely drop a player only after a couple of games.

In 2014 season, he played fewer matches. In the 5 matches he played, he only scalped 2 wickets at an economy rate of 9.69.

He was dropped the following year only to return 2 years later wearing the Sunrisers Hyderabad jersey. This time he was a seasoned campaigner in the domestic circuit and was given a chance to shine. He has been getting better each year, which makes us wonder what would’ve happened had he stayed with the Delhi Daredevils for a couple more years.

5. Yuvraj Singh (2015)

Yuvraj Singh

After being released by Royal Challengers Bangalore, Yuvraj Singh was picked up at the 2015 auctions by the Delhi Daredevils who were looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing 2014 season.

All hope was lost when Yuvraj had a below average tournament leaving Delhi to settle for 7th place in the points table. However, it was still a better season for Delhi when compared to 2014. Playing 14 games for Delhi, Yuvraj scored only 248 runs with the bat and picked up only one wicket.

4. Umesh Yadav (2009-2013)

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav joined the Delhi camp in 2009, but he didn’t get a single game till 2010. His first two seasons for DD were forgettable. He only picked up 8 wickets in his first two seasons and was quite expensive and was clearly struggling to hit the right line and lengths.

He showed signs of improvement in his next two seasons, picking 19 and 16 wickets respectively.

What’s baffling is that Delhi retained him when he didn’t bowl well, but as soon as he started to improve, they decided against retaining him.

He went on to play for a couple more franchises and even had his best year in 2018 with RCB, picking up 20 wickets in 14 games.

3. Andre Russell (2012-2013)

Andre Russell

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Andre Russell when he arrived in the IPL. A lot of people knew what he was capable of doing with bat and ball. However, he wasn’t able to show his full potential.

He only played 7 games for them across two seasons and scored a total of 58 runs and only picked up one wicket at a very poor economy rate close to 10 RPO.

Needless to say, he wasn’t retained by Delhi and went on to play for KKR, where he has won them plenty of matches with bat and ball.

2. AB de Villiers (2008-2010)

AB de Villiers

Though the name AB de Villiers has become synonymous with Bangalore over the past couple of years, Mr. 360 once used to play for Delhi Daredevils.

In fact, he made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural edition of the IPL. He didn’t get many games under his belt. He only played 6 games and scored 95 runs. He mostly batted as a finisher lower down the order, which meant he wasn’t getting much time at the crease.

However, he came back much stronger next year. He scored 465 runs and also scored his first IPL hundred in a world-class innings that left everyone in awe. de Villiers had arrived! This was one of his best seasons.

After having a good season in 2009, de Villiers again wasn’t able to deliver as expected, scoring only 111 runs in 7 matches. Clearly, he wasn’t comfortable batting at no. 5, 6, or 7.

He went on to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the following year, where he had a legendary IPL career.

1. David Warner (2009-2013)

David Warner

David Warner used to open the batting for Delhi Daredevils for 5 years. After stellar performances in the Champions League T20 where Warner scored back to back centuries, he was picked up by DD in the 2009 IPL auction.

A lot of buzz was surrounding Warner as he walked out to bat for DD. Sadly, he couldn’t live up to the hype as he was averaging only 25 with the bat in his first 3 years at Delhi.

However, in 2014, Warner managed to silence his critics by scoring 410 runs. He also scored 2 hundreds during his tenure at DD. However, despite his performances, they chose not to retain him and he was put back into the auction where he was picked up by SRH. This proved a costly mistake because he scored 500+ runs in every season for SRH winning the Orange Cap a couple of times and also leading them to an IPL title.

Delhi are probably looking back and thinking why they ever considered letting Warner go.