IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals - Team Composition and Analysis

The Delhi Daredevils – now known as Delhi Capitals – have changed their name and appearance as a franchise. They will also be hoping to change their fortunes around with consistently poor performances in previous editions of the IPL.

They have released big players like Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell, Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett which meant they had to find out effective replacements for each of them. The Sunrisers Hyderabad traded Shikhar Dhawan to Delhi Capitals for Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma.

Delhi Capitals Squad

Batsmen – Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Colin Ingram and Manjot Kalra

All Rounders – Hanuma Vihari, Colin Munro, Axar Patel, Chris Morris, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and Jalaj Saxena

Wicket-keepers – Rishabh Pant and Ankush Bains

Bowlers – Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Rahul Tewatia, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Ishant Sharma, Nathu Singh and Bandaru Ayyappa

Team Composition and Analysis

Delhi Capitals is a team of openers. A lot of the players above have opened at domestic and International levels. They might face issues with balancing batting positions but the overall team composition looks good with Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw being the ideal opening combination for them. The team consists of some explosive players like Colin Ingram, Rishabh Pant, Colin Munro and if the reality is as effective as it shows on paper, Delhi have a chance.

Hanuma Vihari was a good buy for them at the auction as he will be required in the middle order to build steady partnerships in case of early collapses. All-rounders Chris Morris and Axar Patel are handy with the bat as well.

Looking into their bowling strength, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult and Avesh Khan is a fierce attack to start with. It won’t be easy for Batsmen to play early shots especially against Rabada who will be their spearhead. Nathu Singh can be an effective replacement in case of injuries. Chris Morris is an impressive death bowler and Axar Patel can rush through the middle overs as well.

The only issue with the team will be the skipper’s lack of experience. It won’t be easy for Shreyas Iyer to captain an IPL side like this but can turn out to be equally promising. The Capitals need to ensure they perform to their potential to change their fortunes from previous seasons and give themselves a chance of winning.