The Delhi Capitals are among the three original IPL franchises that are yet to end their trophy drought in the tournament. While their performances in recent years have been a substantial improvement over the disappointing campaigns they endured in their middle years, DC and their fans would still be raring to lay their hands on that coveted IPL trophy.
One thing that DC has managed to do well leading up to the main tournament is that they’ve assembled the core of a formidable team. But even so, selecting the best players to start in that lineup can be a bit of a challenge; and to help assist the Delhi Capitals in that endeavor, here’s our picks for Delhi’s best starting XI in the IPL 2022.
The top-order
Delhi has got an absolute fire-cracker of an opening pair in Prithvi Shaw and David Warner, their new-old signing. Both of these batters have the capability to take the game away from the opposition in the powerplay overs itself, which makes them one of the most top-heavy teams in this tournament.
The explosiveness of the openers extends down to numbers 3 and 4 as well, as the likes of Mitch Marsh and Rovman Powell slot in at their respective positions. Both these players have matured in their batting game considerably over the last few months, which lends the DC batting unit a staggering level of confidence and strength.
But there is a slight concern that all these batters tend to play aggressively at the top, and that approach should be eschewed sometimes when the team needs some stability in their innings. So that is something the DC management has to be mindful about.
Backups available: Mandeep Singh, Yash Dhull, Ashwin Hebbar, Tim Seifert
The middle order
Captain Rishabh Pant headlines the charge of Delhi Capitals’ middle order at number 5. He will also be the primary wicket-keeper of this team- and like a certain another captain-keeper in the IPL- he will be expected to shepherd much of the innings finishing responsibility upon his shoulders.
There’s also some familiarity in the batting positions after Pant, as Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel slot in at numbers 6 and 7 respectively. While somewhat untested, Yadav had some very decent games in the IPL last time, and in the absence of some marquee players, he should be a reliable starting option in the playing XI as a finisher/ part-time bowler.
Axar, meanwhile, has a lot of experience bowling in the powerplay and middle overs, and that is something he should continue doing in this season. But he will need to take some extra batting responsibilities upon himself now that the team has lost most of their trusted finishers.
Backups available: Srikar Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Ripal Patel, Vicky Otswal
The bowling attack
Marsh, Powell, and Lalit from the batting lineup can provide a few overs of part-time bowling if need be, which is good for the team’s overall depth. Axar will be the team’s leading spinner, with Kuldeep Yadav expected to support him and pick up some quick wickets.
Anrich Nortje, as one of the team’s core-retained players, will have a lot of bowling responsibilities on his shoulder. He might have to come in and bowl at different stages of the innings. Thankfully, he has a good support crew of local quicks around him in the form of Chetan Sakariya, a gun death bowler, and Shardul Thakur, who can boss the game like an absolute lord on his best days.
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Backups available: Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Praveen Dubey
Best playing XI for DC: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rovamn Powell, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakaria
