IPL 2022: Rebuilding didn’t exactly go to plan for Delhi Capitals (DC) at the mega auction
Delhi Capitals (DC), who were runner-ups in IPL 2020, have been on an upward curve in the last three years, but IPL 2022 could pose a challenge after their squad building didn’t quite go to plan in the mega auction. Winning around 60% of matches in this timeframe, Delhi have finished in the top-three positions in each season, including top-two finishes in the previous two seasons. Getting their core – Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan – back in the mega auctions wasn’t going to be easy, and DC failed to buy any of these players.
IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals (DC) squad with best playing XI
Overall, DC weren’t great in the auction. They seemed a bit more interested in hiking the prices of players for other teams, rather than focusing on their squad. Their bowling attack, as compared to the last couple of seasons, has taken a serious dip in quality. Here is a detailed squad analysis of Delhi Capitals after the IPL 2022 mega auction.
IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals (DC) Batting Unit
Delhi have a pretty good batting unit, with three LHBs and four RHBs in the top-seven. David Warner & Prithvi Shaw will form a strong opening pair and complement each other nicely. While Shaw can fire from the word go, Warner can take time in the first three overs. However, they both will score quickly once set. Warner’s presence will also ensure that left-arm orthodox spinners aren’t introduced in the powerplay.
Warner couldn’t score fluently in the last two IPL seasons, particularly in 2021. The southpaw had a strike rate of just 116 against fast-bowlers in the powerplay, and his overall numbers weren’t great as well. However, he turned the tables around in the T20 World Cup 2021 and won ‘Player of the Tournament’ for his superb show throughout the competition. Delhi would hope that Warner continues his good form.
Mitchell Marsh has been excellent at No. 3 in recent times. He was good in the West Indies, in T20 World Cup 2021, and BBL 2021-22. It’s fair enough if DC continue the trend. However, another thought could be to keep Marsh at No. 5, so he doesn’t face a lot of spin bowling. It will also mean that Sarfaraz Khan enjoys some cushion at No. 3.
Mitchell Marsh has had a great 2021 with the bat in this format, but teams can use spin to keep him quiet to an extent. #PAKvAUS #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/g14Bd958A6
— Stat Doctor
(@stat_doctor) November 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant adds a much-needed left-handed option in the middle-order, and he will hope to produce better returns in comparison to his numbers in the last two IPL seasons.
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Rovman Powell has raw power and can smash pacers, although of not very high quality. However, he averaged 16.59 with a strike rate of around 117 during 2020-21. But, he has started 2022 on a good note as he had a good series against England. Delhi would hope that Rovman continues his good form.
Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur are decent options for No. 7 and No. 8. Overall Delhi’s batting line-up will be lit, given their overseas batters don’t disappoint. However, one of the shortcomings is the lack of an established IPL batsman in their backup choices.
IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals (DC) Bowling attack
As mentioned earlier, Delhi’s bowling attack, which was excellent in the last two seasons, isn’t of the same quality anymore. They can’t play Mustafizur Rahman as all of their four overseas spots are already locked. However, he may come in later if either of Powell and Marsh doesn’t perform well.
Axar and Nortje are good options, however, it remains to be seen if they will manage to produce the same level of returns without much support from others. Sakariya and Shardul have their limitations, whereas Kuldeep hasn’t been good enough for a while now. With Ashwin in the side, DC didn’t miss a robust T20 wrist-spinner. But they are likely to face this problem now.
Delhi can also choose Khaleel Ahmed instead of Kuldeep or Sakariya. However, he should be instructed to bowl with good pace and energy, and not over-rely on his slower balls. Khaleel may manage to perform decently if he puts in some extra effort.
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Shardul isn’t a very imposing bowler in white-ball cricket. While he will understandably start, the speedster Kamlesh Nagarkoti can replace him or anyone else – depending on his rhythm in the nets and the returns of other bowlers. Nagarkoti has suffered from many injuries and has poor numbers in his short IPL career of 11 games.
At the very least, they should’ve got a more rounded option than Sakariya as a powerplay specialist. At this stage, the young left-arm pacer may find it quite difficult to do the major share of work alone in the powerplay. While he should have been a support powerplay pacer, DC expect him to be the lead one.
Marsh, at best, can bowl two overs while Powell shouldn’t be trusted to perform with the ball at the IPL level. Thus, Rishabh Pant and the management won’t find it easy to manage this bowling attack.
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