IPL 2019: 3 Reasons why the Delhi Capitals are the strongest team ahead of the auction

The Delhi Daredevils, rechristened as the Delhi Capitals, finished at the bottom of the table last season. But they had a few good performances towards the end of the tournament, giving hope to their fans of a better future.

Delhi were very active in the trading phase where the teams could trade players among themselves. They traded the trio of Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma for Shikhar Dhawan from SRH.

The team have announced themselves and made their intent very clear. They want to start afresh, and even the renaming of the team to 'Delhi Capitals' seems to be a step in that direction.

Here are the players which Delhi have released:

Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Gurkeerat Mann, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Shami, Dan Christian, Sayan Ghosh, Liam Plunkett, Junior Dala, Naman Ojha.

And here are the players they have retained.

Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Manjot Kalra, Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Sandeep Lamichhane, Avesh Khan

Though Delhi have been at the receiving end of several losses in the last few seasons, it seems like they are ready to turn things around this year. They were brilliant with the choice of players retained and those released.

Here are 3 reasons why they look the strongest team going into the auction.

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#3 Great pace attack

The Delhi Daredevils lacked the services of both Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris last season due to injury. Morris failed to make an impact in the two games he played before he got injured, while Rabada didn't play at all.

Trent Boult wasn't as effective as the team would have hoped him to be, and a lot of pressure was put on their other pacers, including Mohammed Shami.

Delhi's star fast bowlers getting injured was a major reason for their failure last season. This year, they have released Plunkett and Shami while retaining the others.

Rabada is in the form of his life while Boult isn't having a bad time either. Morris has also bowled well in the Mzanzi Super League and will look to fire for them.

Having such a dominant pace attack will definitely boost the Capitals' chances of winning. The fact that these international stars will be available for the whole of next season, unlike the Aussie and England players who will leave on May 1 for World Cup preparations, would give even more confidence to the team.

#2 Large purse

The Delhi Capitals made a few noteworthy releases like the ones of Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell and Jason Roy. They now have INR 25.5 crore to spend, and will no doubt be looking to sign the best players to address their issues and complete this already great looking squad.

Delhi were smart with their retentions and released the likes of Maxwell and Roy, who won't be available for the whole season. With a large purse to spend and an intent to win, the Delhi Capitals will be a team to look out for at the auction.

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#1 Great batting lineup

The fact that Delhi already had a great batting lineup was evident from their performances last season where Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer piled up the runs while Prithvi Shaw sparkled in the few chances he got.

Their international stars, Roy and Colin Munro, didn't play as per the expectations; Roy has been released while the in-form Munro has been retained.

Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant

This season though, the dynamics have changed and the players which Delhi possessed have grown in stature. Both Shaw and Pant have become regulars in the Indian team while Iyer is being considered for opportunities in the limited overs format.

They have also signed star opener Shikhar Dhawan from SRH, which will fix the only weak spot in their batting - that of the second opener. With Munro for backup and a lot of money to spend on their middle order, the Delhi Capitals will be a difficult team to bowl to.