DC has the ideal T20 batting unit and a strong spin attack. If conditions favour them, they'll be one of the favourites to win the trophy.
The Delhi Capitals are one of the three IPL franchises to have bought a team in the WPL. Their campaign starts on 5th March against RCB at the Brabourne Stadium. Let’s take a look at the composition of their squad and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.
Squad: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhter, Minnu Mani, Tara Norris, Taniyaa Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Jes Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Aparna Mondal, Arundhati Reddy
Support staff: Jonathan Batty (Head coach), Hemlata Kala (Assistant coach), Lisa Keightley (Assistant Coach), Biju George (Fielding Coach)
Delhi Capitals will be led by the most successful captain in international cricket history — Meg Lanning. The franchise took its time to announce the captain and unveil its jersey, but it was fairly obvious that it was going to be Lanning. They have built a batting-heavy squad with a focus on hitting ability. The Capitals also have one of the most experienced squads in the tournament with just four uncapped players, out of which one is Titas Sadhu, who is coming on the back of a U19 World Cup victory.
The Capitals will be coached by former English first-class cricketer Jonathan Batty who has previously coached the Oval Invincibles to the Women’s Hundred title in 2021 and has coached the Melbourne Stars in WBBL 2022 as well. He will be assisted by former Indian cricketer Hemlata Kala, former Australian cricketer Lisa Keightley, and former Indian cricketer Biju George who is also the fielding coach of the Delhi Capitals men’s team.
The Delhi Capitals have the ideal T20 batting lineup with a lot of firepower to surround two high-quality anchors. Shafali Verma, Jasia Akhter, Alice Capsey, Laura Harris, Sneha Deepthi, Marizanne Kapp — all of them can wield the long handle and strike big on cue. Meanwhile, Meg Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues can hold the innings together from one end to allow these big hitters to express themselves freely. It’s safe to say that the Capitals have the most dangerous and enviable batting lineup in the tournament.
As if having the batting lineup that they have wasn’t enough, the Capitals have also managed to get three experienced international spinners in their squad whom they can use depending on the conditions and opposition — Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, and Jess Jonassen.
While the two left-arm spinners Radha and Jonassen can bowl in all phases of the innings, with Jonassen particularly specialising at the death, Poonam Yadav can control the middle overs entirely.
Delhi Capitals have only five pace bowling options with Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey to lead them. While five is not a bad number, the experience of the pacers drops sharply after Kapp and Pandey. Arundhati Reddy has played 25 T20Is for India but has picked only 18 wickets at an economy rate of 8.03. Tara Norris has played 5 T20Is for USA and has picked 3 wickets, while Titas Sadhu is uncapped at the senior level and is coming from a U19 World Cup victory.
Thankfully for DC, their spinners are prolific at the death, which means the load on the backup pacer will be less. But in case the conditions dictate that they can’t rely much on spin, then they might be found wanting.
The only small blemish in their otherwise fiery batting lineup is the non-existence of a left-handed batter. Minnu Mani from Kerala is the only left-handed batting option they have in the squad, but it’s difficult to see her start in the top five or top six. On turning tracks against good left-arm/leg spinners, the one-dimensionality of the batting order can cause problems for DC.
Minnu Mani is a 24-year-old all-rounder from Kerala who bowls right-arm off spin and bats left handed. She scored 246 runs in 8 innings at an average of 41 along with taking 12 wickets at an average of 16.75 in the recently concluded Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy. Before that in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, she picked 9 wickets in 6 innings at an economy rate of 4.55. There’s a good chance that she might start for DC considering she is the only LHB option in the squad and also offers more than decent off-spin.
1) Minnu Mani – Kerala
🏏Off Spin Bowling All Rounder
🗣️A tribal girl from Kerala’s Wayanad district, she hails from a humble background.
🏏She is the only player from the State to get picked at the auction.#CricketTwitter #WPL #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/yy4bqSy93t
— Indian Domestic Cricket Forum – IDCF (@IDCForum) March 1, 2023
Titas sadhu became a household name after she put up match-winning performances in the U19 World Cup earlier this year. She picked 6 wickets in 6 innings at an average of 12.83 in the World Cup. DC doesn’t have a lot of backup pace bowling options and given the form and reputation she is coming in with, Titas can be thrown right into the mix from the very beginning.
What a ball by Titas Sadhu in the U-19 World Cup final.pic.twitter.com/PJjXTfdHIU
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 29, 2023
Jasia Akhter’s is one of the most interesting stories in this WPL. She is a 34-year-old hard-hitting top-order batter from Jammu & Kashmir who currently plays for Rajasthan. She has been putting in consistent performances off late in the domestic circuit and is one of the most powerful strikers of the ball.
Akhter scored 273 runs in 7 innings in the last season of the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy at a strike rate of 138.57. She was the only one to hit an individual century, had the highest strike rate among batters to have scored 200+ runs in the tournament, and hit the joint second-highest number of sixes — 9. An opening pair of Shafali Varma and Jasia Akhter has the potential to light up the WPL big time.
Jasia Akhter from J&K, currently playing for Rajasthan is one of the powerful strikers in domestic circuit.
🎥 Mohsin Kamal#CricketTwitter #WPLAuction #WPL #WPL2023 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/qgekMslfYw
— Indian Domestic Cricket Forum – IDCF (@IDCForum) February 2, 2023
DC clearly has the strongest batting lineup in the tournament on paper. Other teams have good batting lineups as well, but none has the completeness which DC possesses. Couple that with their experienced spinners and you have a recipe for success right there. The only major issues which can plague them are the lack of reliable backup pacers and the lack of a wicketkeeper who can make it into the XI on her batting alone.
If DC get surfaces that are conducive to spin, they will be sure-shot title contenders, and even if they don’t, a top-two finish should be expected of them.
Also Read:
WPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) looking like the favourites to win the title
WPL 2023: Mumbai Indians’ all-rounders make them a force to reckon with
WPL 2023: Gujarat Giants heavily dependent on their top-order in their maiden voyage
