3 most successful captains in Delhi Capitals history

Delhi Capitals are among the only three teams along with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings to have been part of the IPL since its inception and never won it.

However, DC have had their moments as a franchise. They have made it to the playoffs on 6 occasions. Their best season was in IPL 2020 when they made it to the finals of the coveted competition.

Captaincy is beyond just win percentages. It is important to understand the conditions of the team when the captain takes over and the quality of the players he has on the team. In this piece, we try to dissect Delhi Capitals' three most successful skippers.

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#1 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer made his IPL debut for the Delhi-based franchise in 2015. He was an integral member of the franchise until 2021, after which the team management released him. He scored 2375 runs for the franchise in 87 innings at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 124.

Iyer led the Delhi Capitals in 41 matches from 2018 to 2020, winning 23 and losing 18. The Mumbai batter led them to their first playoff appearance in 8 seasons in 2019 and the franchise's first-ever final in 2020.

Iyer took over the captaincy in 2018 when Gautam Gambhir stepped down mid-season. He had an inexperienced team and it was important for him to display his leadership skills.

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#2 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag is one of the most destructive players in the game's history. He has a very impressive record in the IPL too - 2728 runs in 104 innings at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 155.

To date, Sehwag remains the captain to have led the franchise for the most number of matches. In 52 matches, he led the team to 28 wins and 24 losses. DC made it to the semi-finals in the first two seasons of the league.

Delhi Capitals' best performance under Sehwag's leadership was in 2012 when they were table toppers. However, they faltered in the playoffs as they lost both qualifiers.

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#3 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has been one of the best players to have played for the Delhi Capitals. The dynamic left-handed wicketkeeper has been an absolute match-winner with the bat. Since making his IPL debut in 2016, he has scored 2838 runs in 97 innings at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 148.

Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the first leg of IPL 2021. This meant that Rishabh Pant had to take over the leadership despite having a poor season in IPL 2020. He led the team very well in the first half. He continued as captain even after Iyer returned in the second leg of the season.

Pant has won 16 out of the 30 matches he has captained for the franchise. Although he has made some rookie mistakes in his on-field captaincy, these are still early days. It is essential that the team management backs a special player like him.