Will Rishabh Pant's presence be enough for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024?

Delhi Capitals (DC) - Team Profile

Owners: GMR Sports Pvt. Ltd. and JSW Sports Pvt. Ltd.

Captain: Rishabh Pant

Coach: Ricky Ponting

Previous edition: 9th

Title: None

Delhi Capitals (DC) were among the worst-performing teams in IPL 2023, ending in the ninth position on the points table. DC could only win five of their 14 games, attaining 10 points. Consequently, they couldn’t qualify for playoffs and won the second-least number of games in IPL 2023.

A temporary captain, David Warner, led DC last season but made numerous errors with his decisions. However, the return of Rishabh Pant should bolster the team’s confidence as they look to put the miserable performances of the previous edition aside. DC made some intriguing signings in the IPL 2024 and will be among the teams to watch out for.

𝘋𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪 𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘩 🫶#YehHaiNayiDilli #ROARFOR2024 #IPL2024 #RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/g9VTMr9xBz

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 13, 2024

Ricky Ponting will be at the helm of the coaching section again. Meanwhile, Sourav Ganguly will be the Director of Cricket. With a wealth of experience in the coaching section, DC will likely win more matches and do better than last season.

Complete DC Squad for IPL 2024

Rishabh Pant (c), Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marsh, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chhikara

Team News (Injuries and replacements)

• Harry Brook withdrew his name from the season a few days ago for personal reasons. DC haven’t announced his replacement yet.

• Lungi Ngidi has a lower back injury and won’t feature in IPL 2024. Jake Fraser-McGurk has been announced as his replacement for the season.

• Some doubts hover around the availability of Anrich Nortje for the initial games. He is awaiting the birth of his child and might miss the first game.

Also Read: Can Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) hide their loopholes in IPL 2024?

Probable DC Playing XI for IPL 2024

Strengths

• In Prithvi Shaw and David Warner, Delhi Capitals have two quality openers who complement each other brilliantly.

• DC have a nice blend of RHBs-LHBs throughout the batting order.

• DC’s middle order has spin and pace bashers.

• DC have depth in the batting order.

• DC have quality and variety in the spin department.

• DC have a powerplay specialist in Khaleel Ahmed and an enforcer in Anrich Nortje.

• DC have plenty of bowling options in their strongest XI.

Weaknesses

• Rishabh Pant is coming after a prolonged break and hasn’t played ample competitive cricket. Hence, his performances are in doubt.

• DC lack genuine finishers in the lower order. While Axar Patel is a quality option, Kumar Kushagra has no experience playing at this level, and Lalit Yadav’s past performances aren’t inspiring.

• While DC have Mitchell Marsh, they don’t have a real pace bowling all-rounder to play in the XI. Marsh’s bowling is hardly trustworthy.

• Death overs bowling might be an issue for Delhi Capitals. Anrich Nortje is coming from an injury and has been expensive in this phase lately. Mukesh Kumar has done well but is far from a complete product, and Khaleel Ahmed often concedes plenty.

• DC have several injury-prone players returning from injuries in their squad.

• The backups aren’t as experienced and rich in quality.

DC’s IPL 2024 Fixtures/Schedule

• PBKS vs DC - 23rd March, 3:30 PM IST

• RR vs DC - 28th March, 7:30 PM IST

• DC vs CSK - 31st March, 7:30 PM IST

• DC vs KKR - 3rd April, 7:30 PM IST

• MI vs DC - 7th April, 7:30 PM

IPL 2024 Season Prediction

The return of Rishabh Pant has definitely boosted the quality of the squad. Further, Delhi Capitals also have experienced campaigners in each department. However, they still have several glaring weaknesses.

Delhi Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre praises Rishabh Pant after his return to training#RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/7JSsCbhJm1

— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) March 15, 2024

The lack of firepower in the lower order and death overs bowling are the major loopholes. It’s never easy to cover such glaring issues in IPL. The opponents will exploit it severely.

A lot will depend on how experienced players perform. Last year, DC finished ninth. They might again end up in the league stage in IPL 2024.

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