Delhi Capitals at IPL Auction 2020: Shimron Hetmyer boosts middle order as DC add squad depth

2019 was the first year with a new name for the Delhi Capitals and there was a change in their fortune, or misfortunes, as well. They reached the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Despite that, they were pretty busing during the trading window and released quite a few players. Going into this auction […]

By Sahil Jain Dec 20, 2019, 11:54 IST

2019 was the first year with a new name for the Delhi Capitals and there was a change in their fortune, or misfortunes, as well. They reached the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Despite that, they were pretty busing during the trading window and released quite a few players. Going into this auction for the 2020 season, DC had Rs 27.85 crore with 11 slots to fill in the squad.

New Additions

Jason Roy (Rs 1.5 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 7.75 crore), Alex Carey (Rs 2.4 crore) Chris Woakes (Rs 1.5 crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs 4.8 crore), Lalit Yadav (Rs 20 lakh), Mohit Sharma (Rs 50 lakh), Tushar Deshpande (Rs 20 lakh)

DC Squad 2020:

Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Jason Roy, Rishabh Pant (wk), Alex Carey (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Keemo Paul, Avesh Khan, Mohit Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

IPL Auction performance summary

Going into the auction, Delhi’s top order was sorted but it was the middle order and death overs batting that was in question. They needed a finisher or a quality middle-order batsman and an overseas all-rounder. They’ve beefed up an already strong top order with the addition of star England opener Jason Roy.

DC have gone out and bought a few big names as well. They went after Glenn Maxwell till the very end but let him go but they got the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey, Chris Woakes and Marcus Stoinis. These were some of DC’s big buys. All four of them can bat anywhere in the order and are destructive as well.

KXIP have bought a couple of fast Indian bowlers in Mohit Sharma and Tushar Deshpande and they will join Ishant Sharma and Avesh Khan in the Indian contingent. They’ve strengthened their lower-order batting with the inclusion of pace-bowling all-rounders Woakes and Stoinis. One is a batting all-rounder and the other is a bowling all-rounder which balances things out. Out of the 11 players they had to buy before the auction, they picked only eight of them, which includes five overseas players.

Best buy for DC

Chris Woakes may have had a tough time in the recent past. But he can contribute in all three departments. He has a very good T20 record. Woakes can be an impact player and is a steal at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore.

Loopholes

DC went hell for leather after Pat Cummins but he was out of reach and budget. However, it was surprising that they didn’t really go after any other overseas fast bowler. There is no replacement for Kagiso Rabada and an injury to the South African pacer might dent DC’s balance.

Verdict

Delhi Capitals fared decently as they bought eight players and they still have Rs 9 crore in their kitty. They could’ve gone for fast bowlers like Dale Steyn, Chris Jordan or others and have them as a backup for Rabada. But they did bolster their middle order with some overseas firepower.