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Earlier known as the Delhi Daredevils, the franchise was renamed to Delhi Capitals (DC) last season. Shreyas Iyer had shown promise in the 2018 IPL season for the Delhi-based franchise and was successful in taking the team to the play-offs the next season. The Capitals entered the play-offs after seven years, and ended up as second runners up in the playoffs.
With some valuable additions to the side, the Capitals on paper look as formidable a side as any. But can they get consistency out of the likes of Rishabh Pant, who off late has been struggling for form? Can they get on a run of winning matches to not only make it to the play-offs this time but to go one step further and win their maiden IPL title?
The Delhi Capitals play their home matches in the newly named Arun Jaitley Stadium, while they also have the modern Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur as their second home ground.
Let's have an in-depth look into their squad.
Players bought by DC in the IPL Auction 2020
Jason Roy (INR 1.50 crores), Chris Woakes (INR 1.50 crores), Marcus Stoinis (INR 4 crores), Alex Carey (INR 2.4 crores), Shimron Hetmyer (INR 7.75 crores), Tushar Deshpande (INR 20 lakhs), Mohit Sharma (INR 50 lakhs), Lalit Yadav (INR 20 lakhs).
Final DC squad for IPL 2020
Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande.
Let's dive into the SWOT analyiss of the Delhi franchise
Also read: IPL 2020 | Chennai Super Kings SWOT analysis
Strengths
Stoinis has had an unbelievable BBL season and would look to replicate his form
Delhi Capitals possessed one of the strongest batting line-ups in IPL last year and this year they have only gone on to strengthen it. The likes of Marcus Stoinis, who is currently the leading run-getter in the Big Bash League by a huge margin, is in fantastic form and can bat anywhere in the order as required. Head coach Ricky Ponting has also identified Alex Carey as an important middle order batsman for DC who can play a crucial role for them. Shimron Hetmyer is also another dangerous addition who adds a bit of Carribean flavour.
Delhi have a settled top order in the form of the in-form Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan who will have a point to prove in the shortest format of the game and will be hungry to score runs. The trade of Ajinkya Rahane from Rajasthan Royals has added a sense of calm to the flamboyance and youth of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Boasting such a batting line-up, even a total well in excess of 200 will not be out of reach for this side.
With the trade of Ravichandran Ashwin from Kings XI Punjab along with the already present Axar Patel, Amit Mishra and young Nepal sensation Sandeep Lamichhane, DC have several spinning options with all of them having ample international experience. Knowing that the home ground traditionally is a slow surface, the trio will be looking forward to unleashing their bag of tricks in the home games.
Also read: IPL 2020 | SWOT analysis of Mumbai Indians
Weaknesses
After the trade of Trent Boult to Mumbai Indians, Kagiso Rabada is the standout star in the overseas fast bowling department along with the Indian Test pro Ishant Sharma. Despite having Chris Woakes and Mohit Sharma as decent back-ups, there is no other name that stands out for DC as far as fast bowling is concerned. Avesh Khan has been impressive but has not been fully tested at the highest level.
Opportunities
The Delhi-based IPL sides over the years have been underwhelming over the years and most of the times have finished in the bottom half of the IPL points table. Under Iyer, there was promise shown by DC last season and the addition of some talented players mentioned before along with the already present superstars have made them a force to reckon with.
DC are among the three teams who have never won even a single IPL title, the other two being Kings XI Punjab and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have a great chance this year to overcome this final barrier and earn their first-ever IPL title.
Threats
With Ishant Sharma having rolled his ankle over in a Ranji Trophy game, there are doubts over his availability for the Indian team for New Zealand tour as well as for DC at the start of IPL. As mentioned before, there are no quality back-ups for Rabada and Ishant Sharma and thus injuries to them could be the only big threat apart from inconsistency that could come in DC's way to winning their maiden IPL title.
If Delhi are able to hold their nerves in crunch moments and play to their potential, then there is no reason why they cannot be the sixth new winner of the Indian Premier League.
Also read: IPL 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore SWOT analysis
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