The Delhi Capitals (DC) underwent wholesale changes at the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. After releasing Rishabh Pant, the IPL 2020 finalists needed an overhaul and got the job done.
The Capitals signed several talented players, including Harry Brook, KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc, and T Natarajan. They have an interesting blend of youth and experience, and breaking their trophy hoodoo will be high on their agenda for the upcoming edition of the league.
DC's squad for IPL 2025: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Abishek Porel, Donovan Ferreira, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera.
On that note, here is DC's strongest side, including an impact player, for IPL 2025.
Openers: Jake Fraser-McGurk and KL Rahul (c&wk)
Jake Fraser-McGurk was always going to be bought back after the kind of season he had in IPL 2024. While his international form has been far from promising, he should enjoy batting at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
DC could choose to open with Abishek Porel alongside Fraser-McGurk, pushing KL Rahul down to No. 3. But Rahul has opened the batting over the last few years in the IPL, and given that he is likely to be announced as the captain, he could continue in that role. The former LSG skipper could also don the gloves for the franchise ahead of Porel if he is announced as the captain.
Faf du Plessis will serve as Fraser-McGurk's backup.
Middle order: Abishek Porel, Harry Brook, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma
The dynamic overseas duo of Harry Brook and Tristan Stubbs will follow Porel in the middle order, with domestic signings Sameer Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma batting on either side of the retained Axar Patel. This is a fairly easy combination to pick, although there are a couple of minor questions.
Could Delhi pick Manvanth Kumar ahead of Rizvi? The fast-bowling all-rounder would give them a fourth pacer option while adding some left-handedness to the middle order. It's possible, but Rizvi has more IPL experience and should be trusted to come good.
Karun Nair has been in excellent form lately, but backing the younger talents to deliver might be a better option.
Lower order: Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan
Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, and T Natarajan are the obvious choices to headline DC's pace attack, with Mohit Sharma serving as the Tamil Nadu left-armer's backup. The trio need to be at their absolute best at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which has become a graveyard for the bowlers.
Kuldeep Yadav, retained ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, will lead the Delhi spin attack.
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