Delhi Capitals no longer have Rishabh Pant, but they still can be dangerous
Delhi Capitals had a disappointing season in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 by finishing sixth in the table with seven wins and as many losses and 14 points. Having qualified for the final for the playoffs three seasons in a row, Delhi Capitals were plagued by multiple absences and inconsistencies which never got their campaign going.
Rishabh Pant’s return was a good sign ahead for them, but one positive couldn’t make up for ten bad things in their performances. Their confidence kept fluctuating during the tournament and once things calmed down, came the crushing blow.
There were multiple reports that Delhi Capitals were releasing Pant for the upcoming season and the news turned out to be true. The star keeper-batter was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a sum of INR 27 crore.
For the upcoming season they have a big slate of new recruits and here are three thing they need to get right in IPL 2025.
In 2024, Delhi were extremely poor while chasing games despite teeming with firepower. They would get off to good starts and then out of nowhere would fizzle out. For example, in a crucial clash against Kolkata Knight Riders in Visakhapatnam, they had runs on board in the powerplay at 51/4 and seemed to be recovering through Pant and Tristan Stubbs at 126/4. But in a matter of 20 balls, they were 159/8 and lost by 106 runs.
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This pattern should cease if they are to challenge for the title. Thankfully, DC have KL Rahul who most likely will captain the side. The Karnataka batter has a stunning average of 50.47 from 50 innings during chases in the IPL which include 22 matches. However, Rahul isn’t the solo saviour of the side as the likes of Abhishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs and an out-of-form sensation Jake Fraser-Mcgurk need to support with useful contributions.
The most frustrating part of DC’s campaign last season was that they were without the likes of Lungi Ngidi and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries while Harry Brook pulled out of the entire season due to a familial loss.
This season, Delhi Capitals have gone with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera and Harry Brook once again. Here’s the tricky part. Starc mutually terminated his association with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017, opted out of the 2020 and 2022 auctions. The pacer shares the sentiment with others Australian stars to prioritise the national team over IPL and it is better if DC keeps him in the non-priority list.
Also Read: Jake Fraser-McGurk’s Baffling Loss of Form
Chameera, meanwhile, is an asset due to his searing pace and ability to swing the new ball, but he is woefully injury prone. Brook is most likely to be available for the start of the season as the England players are likely to carry on in the subcontinent after the India series and the Champions Trophy 2025. However, England have a series against West Indies starting from the last week of May when the IPL will be reaching its business end. Delhi Capitals will have to keep their options at hand to fill in for Brook if they reach the playoffs.
Under new head coach Hemang Badani, Delhi Capitals will need a cohesive pace attack after finishing as the most expensive bowling unit in IPL 2024. They also had the worst powerplay economy with 10.67 despite claiming 25 wickets from 14 matches. At death, they were much worse, leaking at 12.44 RPO and conceded 57 sixes – the most for any team in the tournament in 2024.
There is a big need for the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel to step up which can inspire all-rounders such as Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma and Darshan Nalkande to prove themselves in tough situations.
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