In the absence of Rishabh Pant, who will be a massive miss for Delhi Capitals, the team will take the field this season under the able leadership of David Warner. With Ricky Ponting at the helm backstage, it will be an all-Australian leadership trying to win a major tournament, and we all know how good the Kangaroos are at that.
Even in the absence of Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals is shaping up to be one of the best teams on paper. Let's analyse what they are up to.
All-Round Batting Led by Top 3
The capitals boast of one of the best top three in the tournament. Warner, Shaw and Marsh. Mitchell, as seen during the 3-match ODI series against India, was in top form. Warner is one of the best ever in IPL's history and Shaw is known to provide nuclear starts.
Sarfaraz Khan will come into the side as a wicketkeeper on the back of another massive domestic season. He can be a match-winner on his day. There might be a small hole to fill here at number 4 or 5 though. If the team persists with Lalit Yadav because of his off-spin, Manish Pandey, who can be a real asset will have to sit out. But that will make the batting look a little weak.
Nonetheless, Rovman Powell and Axar Patel will be expected to finish things off with Kamlesh Nagarkoti being used as a pinch hitter down the order. All in all, DC's batting line-up is pretty all-round and can take apart any bowling attack.
Invincible Bowling
Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will lead the spin attack and both are proven customers. Nagarkoti will be used as an attacking option during the middle overs and can rattle the batters with his express pace. Anrich Nortje will lead the pace attack along with Chetan Sakariya, who can be a difficult pacer to face in slow conditions.
All in all, DC's bowling attack wears an invincible look, and they can defend low scores.
Delhi Capitals' Playing 11
David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan (WK), Lalit Yadav/Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya
Delhi Capitals IPL 2023 squad: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Phil Salt, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Rishabh Pant (Unavailable).
