Picking the combined DC and MI XI ahead of IPL 2023

The Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will be two of the teams that would be pretty satisfied with the way their IPL 2023 auction went. The two franchises tried to retain their core as much as possible and naturally didn't feel the need to make too many buys in the auction.

MI did break the bank for Cameron Green, but apart from that, both teams just made some smart buys to fill the little gaps that they felt they had in their squad. Rishabh Pant's car accident has put a huge doubt on his availability for the IPL 2023 auction and perhaps that's one player that Delhi might struggle to replace.

On that note, let's try and form a combined XI of the players from the two teams that are likely to be available for the entire IPL 2023 season.

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Openers: Prithvi Shaw & David Warner

It is probably impossible to separate the duo of Prithvi Shaw and David Warner at the top of the order because of how effective they have been in IPL 2022. The duo complemented each other really well last season and got DC off to flying starts consistently.

This probably means that Ishan Kishan, who is the wicketkeeping option available in Rishabh Pant's absence, will probably have to slide down to No.3. This top 3 of Shaw, Warner and Ishan really gives an explosive look to the team, which is so crucial to make full use of the powerplay even if they lose an early wicket.

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Middle-order: Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav & Tim David

Suryakumar Yadav has produced some incredible numbers for India at No.4 in 2022 and that allows us to slot Ishan at No.3. The southpaw's double-hundred against Bangladesh proved that he can be explosive up top and also bat in the middle overs to take on the spinners.

'SKY' has been the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world for a while now and rightly so, scoring 1164 runs in just 31 T20Is last year, at an astonishing average of 46.56 and a strike rate of more than 180. His versatility is the X-factor in this middle-order.

Although Tim David didn't play every game for MI last season, he proved why he could be the heir to Kieron Pollard at No.5 which some stunning performances towards the back-end of IPL 2022. In just 8 games, he scored 186 runs at a mind-boggling strike rate of 216.28.

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All-rounders: Cameron Green & Axar Patel

MI spent an astonishing INR 17.5 crore to bag Cameron Green's services in IPL 2023 auction and it did raise quite a few eyebrows as the Australian all-rounder hasn't quite proven his worth so far across all departments.

However, the way he was destructive against India in the T20I series last year proved that he could be a future star if groomed well. He also is deceptively quick with the ball and provides that sixth bowling option in this team.

Axar Patel played some handy knocks for DC last year with the bat and alreayd has a reputation of being a smart T20 bowler. These two all-rounders will give the team the much-needed balance.

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Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed

Kuldeep Yadav's comeback story has been nothing short of sensational. Having been picked for just the base price in the IPL 2022 auction, Kuldeep ended up with a staggering 21 wickets from 14 games and will be the lead spinner in this line-up.

Many in the cricketing fraternity, especially MI fans, have been patiently waiting for the prospect of seeing Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer bowl in tandem. If fit, the two world-class speedsters will walk into arguably any T20 team in the world.

Khaleel Ahmed has been impressive for Delhi and has gone under the radar. Injuries in the latter part of 2022 probably hurt his chances of making an India comeback, but his ability to swing the new ball and that left-arm angle will always make him a valuable pick.