For 11 seasons as ‘Daredevils’, the Delhi franchisee hardly lived up to its name. Armed with very few takeaways from the past decade and now rechristened as ‘Delhi Capitals’, the side eyes a fresh beginning.
Daredevils made past the league phase three times in the first five editions. Once the trio of Virender Sehwag, Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene left the team, Delhi remained among the also-rans, as finding the right balance was its the biggest struggle.
Last year, the team bought Gautam Gambhir to lead and replaced him after the side lost five out of the first six matches. Still, Delhi finished last for the third time.
Smart choices
Since then, Delhi has made some smart choices that have given the team a fair chance to be in the mix for the playoffs.
On paper, Delhi looks more balanced than ever. Trading the trio of Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma for Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad brought in an experienced opener the side needed.
With Dhawan joining Prithvi Shaw at the top, followed by skipper Shreyas Iyer, Colin Munro, Chris Morris and Rishabh Pant, Delhi’s batting surely looks quite formidable.
Spinners Axar Patel — bought from Kings XI Punjab despite his ordinary showing in the past season — and Amit Mishra, also lend depth to batting.
The pace bowlers — Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma — complete the line-up capable of upstaging better known title-aspirants.
Should some World Cup-bound overseas names leave early, options are the big-hitting Sherfane Rutherford and fellow-Guyanese allrounder Keemo Paul. Batting allrounder Hanuma Vihari, too, appears a good choice.
Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who impressed during the limited opportunities he got last season, could also play an unexpected hand.
Demanding coach
Ricky Ponting is a demanding coach. Having played a part in finalising this combination, he surely believes the team has what it takes to go all the way. Should Delhi do well in the first half, not many from the bench will get to break into the playing XI.
Barring Dhawan and Pant, the team does not have another Indian player who needs to manage his work load in the days leading the World Cup. That should make the job of Ponting and Shreyas far easier.
In the past, more often than not, Delhi has failed to perform to potential. Last year, Pant provided the bright spot. His flamboyance and almost audacious approach in aggregating 684 runs caught the imagination of all.
Boult came good to take 18 wickets even as most rivals exploited the lack of sting in the attack.
This time, with the law of averages firmly in its favour, Delhi could script a change in fortunes.
