5 Players you didn’t know played for Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals, previously known as the Delhi Daredevils is the only side which hasn’t played in the IPL finals. They had a star-studded line-up with great international players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB ve Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Glenn McGrath but they failed to clear the semi-final hurdle in the first two seasons.

They lost by a big margin to Rajasthan Royals in the semi-finals of the first edition of IPL. Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist smashed Delhi bowlers all around the ground to chase down an easy target in the semi-finals of the second season. Delhi failed to qualify for the knockout stage for the next 2 seasons.

After reshuffling majority of the squad, Delhi came back strongly to qualify for the knockout phase in IPL 2012. But they lost to champions Kolkata Knight Riders and runner-up Chennai Super Kings in both the qualifiers they played. Sadly on the negative side, Delhi has lost all the matches they have played in the knockout phase of IPL.

Delhi’s team management have changed their squad regularly and never had a settled team core since the third edition of IPL. This resulted in the team’s poor performance in the past few years and they failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2012.

Some well-known players like Andre Russell, Aaron Finch, David Warner, Umesh Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Kevin Pietersen, Morne Morkel, Ross Taylor, JP Duminy have played for Delhi in the past.

Here we look at five players whom you didn’t know played for the Delhi Capitals

5. Shoaib Malik (2008)

After the horror show in World Cup 2007, Shoaib Malik led Pakistan side to the finals of the inaugural T20 World Cup where they lost to arch-rivals India. Malik is one of eleven Pakistani players who has played in the IPL. Malik was bought by Delhi for an amount of half a million USD.

Malik made his much awaited IPL debut against the Deccan Chargers. But, he struggled to make an impact for Delhi and was dropped from the Playing XI. His last outing for Delhi came against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Delhi had bad days when Malik played in the eleven as they lost five of the seven matches he played in. He scored 52 runs and picked up two wickets in seven matches. Due to political reasons, Pakistan cricketers were banned from playing in IPL, so Malik’s IPL career was brought to a premature end.

4. Mohammad Asif (2008)

Mohammad Asif is another Pakistani cricketer who has represented Delhi in the past. He was bought by Delhi for a whopping amount of 650,000 USD making him the most paid foreign player in the squad at that time.

Like his fellow countryman Shoaib Malik, Asif made his IPL debut against the Deccan Chargers. He found immediate success in IPL as he picked up two wickets by giving 19 just runs in his four overs on his debut.

Asif formed a nagging partnership with McGrath with the new ball. It was a joy for cricket lovers to see both of them bowl in tandem. He played eight matches for the Delhi side and was an integral part of the team.

He picked up eight wickets and but his economy rate was on the higher side at 9.25 runs per over. Asif’s bad night during his short IPL career came in the match against the Deccan Chargers as he conceded 51 runs in four overs.

After his debut season, Asif was banned by the IPL for a year as he tested positive for using a banned substance during the tournament. Soon, he was released by the Delhi franchise.

3. Paul Collingwood (2009-2010)

England cricketers have been a part of the IPL since 2009. England’s star all-rounder Paul Collingwood was bought by Delhi for an amount of 275,000 USD. Collingwood never made it to the playing eleven in IPL 2009 as Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB De Villers and David Warner were in good form. Collingwood finally made his long-anticipated IPL debut in the following season against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He went on to play seven more matches for the Delhi side.

Collingwood scored 203 runs at an average of 40.60 batting in the middle-order and picked up 5 wickets at an economy of 6.80 runs per over. His highest score of 75 came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He made some good all-round contributions throughout the season. Delhi had a poor second half of the season in 2010 and lost four of its final five games and finished fifth in the points table.

He was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in 2011 for 250,000 USD but was later replaced by Jacob Oram as he was injured during the 2011 World Cup held just before the IPL and never played in IPL thereafter.

2. Ajit Agarkar (2011-2013)

Ajit Agarkar was a part of Delhi side for three years after he was released by his former employees Kolkata Knight Riders. He was bought by Delhi for 210,000 USD in the 2011 auctions.

Though he was one of the most experienced bowlers in India, Agarkar found the going tough in the IPL. He played seven matches for Delhi during 2011 season and picked up eight wickets. He was the third highest wicket-taker for Delhi. Delhi failed miserably in the 2011 season as they won just four matches out of 14 and finished last in the table.

Due to the presence of young pacers like Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan, Agarkar was relegated to the bench in most of the matches. He just played four matches and picked up three wickets in 2012.

Agarkar played just four matches in IPL 2013 and had nothing to show in his wickets column. Delhi failed to make to the playoffs as they ended up last in the league phase with just three wins. Agarkar retired from all forms of cricket in 2013.

1. Albie Morkel (2015)

Albie Morkel is one of the few international players who have made a name for themselves in the IPL. Morkel was a part of two time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (2008-2013) before he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014. Albie was bought by Delhi in 2015 for 30 lakh INR after a modest season for the Bangalore franchise.

Albie made his debut for Delhi against CSK, a team which he was a part of for six years. He scored an unbeaten 73* but couldn’t help his new employers win the match as they lost by a solitary run.

From there on in, the South African all-rounder had a poor IPL with the bat as he added just 13 more runs in the next three matches. His couldn’t do anything of note with the ball as well picking up just three wickets in four matches.

Albie Morkel was roped in by the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and played a couple of matches for them before being released.