IPL 2018: Comprehensive team analysis and probable playing XIs

Delhi Daredevils

Gautam Gambhir will be playing for Delhi Daredevils after seven years

Delhi Daredevils looks like one of the most settled squads in this year's IPL. They came to the auction with a well-planned strategy and tried to cover every base possible.

Delhi Daredevils Squad

Rishabh Pant, Chris Morris, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Colin Munro, Mohammad Shami, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Daniel Christian, Jayant Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Trent Boult, Manjot Kalra, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane, Naman Ojha, Sayan Ghosh

Batsmen - Delhi Daredevils lost a lot of matches last year because of inexperience in the batting line-up. Even though they had exciting young talents like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, they had to pay a huge price for not having experienced batsmen in their side. This year they have sorted it out by buying batsmen like Gautam Gambhir, Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell who come with years of T20 cricket experience.

T20 specialists Munro and Maxwell have been in top form playing for their national sides and that makes Daredevils one of the best batting units of the tournament. They also have a strong Indian contingent in Gurkeerat Singh and Naman Ojha and rising stars Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra in the team.

All-rounders - Chris Morris was tremendous for the Daredevils with both bat and ball last season. His presence in the side gives Daredevils a lot of flexibility. Vijay Shankar, who made his debut for the national side in the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy, will look to put up a strong performance to cement a place in the Indian team. India U19 all-rounder Abhishek Sharma and Australian international Daniel Christian will provide backup options to the Daredevils.

Bowlers - Daredevils have put a lot of emphasis on building a strong fast bowling unit. They used both their RTM cards to retain Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Shami, while they also bought Kiwi pacer Trent Boult. Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan are other options that Daredevils will have at their disposal. Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem will take up the spin duties for the franchise.

Predicted playing XI - Gautam Gambhir (C), Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami