IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals are a strong outfit, provided players are available

Several important players are unavailable at the start of the tournament either due to national team duty or injury

Captain: Rishabh Pant

Coaching Staff: Ricky Ponting (coach), Shane Watson (assistant coach), Pravin Amre (assistant coach), Ajit Agarkar (assistant coach), James Hopes (fast-bowling coach)

Owner: GMR Sports Pvt. Ltd & JSW Sports Pvt Ltd

Best Performance: Runners-up in 2020

2021 Performance: Third in the league phase. Lost to KKR in the Eliminator.

SQUAD
Rishabh Pant (c), Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal

Players’ availability
David Warner is unavailable for the first two games and Mitchell Marsh for the first three. Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman will also miss the first match. Anrich Nortje has made good recovery from his hip injury and has joined the squad, but he is still likely to sit out the first few matches.

Batting
In David Warner and Prithvi Shaw at the top, Delhi probably have the scariest opening pair in this IPL. In fact, with Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant to follow at No. 3 and 4, it’s as solid a top-four as it can get. But beyond the top-four, their batting is a concern. Sarfaraz Khan is in the form of his life in domestic cricket, but can he replicate that form in the IPL? Rovman Powell will have a lot of responsibility as a finisher and his form will probably have a huge impact on their season.

Also, in the initial few matches, they will have to make do with an incomplete squad. Tim Siefert can replace Warner, but they don’t have any overseas options to fill in for Marsh. And their Indian options — Mandeep Singh, KS Bharat and Yash Dhull — though talented and promising, don’t instill confidence. But you never know.

Bowling
Delhi have a problem, at least in the first few matches. Delhi’s most important bowler Anrich Nortje is going to miss the start of the tournament and they will be hoping for his quick return. But they have Mustafizur Rahman and Lungi Ngidi who can fill the spot, depending on what they need. Rahman is an effective death-overs bowler while Ngidi has more pace. But both of them will also be unavailable for the first couple of matches. In their absence, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed and Kamlesh Nagarkoti will have to step up. Shardul Thakur’s hitting abilities makes him an automatic choice.

Capitals have taken a punt on Kuldeep Yadav and will hope for the bowler to rediscover his wicket-taking knack. Axar Patel will lead their spin attack, which seems thin on paper.

Potential Playing XI

1. David Warner
2. Prithvi Shaw
3. Mitchell Marsh
4. Rishabh Pant (c/wk)
5. Sarfaraz Khan
6. Rovman Powell
7. Shardul Thakur
8. Axar Patel
9. Anrich Nortje
10. Kuldeep Yadav
11. Chetan Sakariya