IPL 2023 auction: Delhi Capitals (DC) SWOT Analysis

DC went into the IPL auction with just 5 slots left to fill with a purse of ₹19.45 crores. Their major overseas buys were Rilee Rossouw (₹4.6 crores) and Phil Salt (₹2 crores). Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey and Mukesh Kumar were their Indian acquistions at the auction in Kochi on December 23.

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A look at DC's squad for IPL 2023

Rishabh Pant (c), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Phil Salt, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw.

Delhi has formed a competent squad. They retained most of their core and picked good backups in the IPL auction. In this article, we do a SWOT analysis of the DC squad ahead of IPL 2023.

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Strengths

Delhi Capitals arguably have one of the most dynamic batting lineups in the IPL - David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh/Rilee Rossouw, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan and Rovman Powell will most probably form their top 6.

Warner is one of the greatest T20 batters of all time, while Shaw is an exciting young talent with a naturally attacking game. Marsh brings experience to the table and is a quality pace-hitter. Powell also had a good season last time around for DC.

Delhi also has a proven spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. They could wreck havoc in home games if the Kotla surfaces aid spinners throughout the tournament.

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Weaknesses

Rishabh Pant has had a year to forget - both as a batter and captain - in the T20 format. He failed to create a significant impact for the national team and was on the bench for the majority of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He will have to perform well if DC are to win their maiden IPL title.

Delhi's Indian pace bowling stocks are also not the most promising. It will be difficult to accommodate both Nortje and Rahman. Hence, Indian fast-bowlers will occupy 2 potential slots in the playing XI - something that the opposition teams will definitely look to target.

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Opportunities

Prithvi Shaw has been out of favor with the national team, despite performing well in the IPL. However, the DC opener needs to have a blockbuster season so the selectors can take notice and give him an extended run in the format.

This season might also be a good opportunity for Rilee Rossouw and Phil Salt. While they may not be a part of the first-choice playing XI, they will definitely be on the radar if players lose form or are unavailable in the middle of the tournament.

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Threats

The Delhi Capitals' batting ends at number 7 and their 6th bowler is Rovman Powell. This might make their first-choice playing XI a little less flexible.

They will have to hope that their specialists - both with the bat and ball - step up in their respective roles to ensure that the relative lack of depth does become a major weakness for the franchise.