Delhi Daredevils have had the devil’s own luck the Indian Premier League. They are the only team from the original eight to not have made a single final in the nine years of the tournament so far. Their best performance so far is a playoffs finish back in 2012.
Even before the start of the 10th edition of the IPL, Delhi were dealt body blows with injuries to Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy. Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who they bought in auction, is also in doubt, while upcoming Indian player Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the initial stages due to chicken pox.
With such an unfavourable start to the season, along with the tag of perennial underachievers, not many will expect big things out of the Delhi unit. However, they have a bunch of talented young players lead by a team management consisting of Rahul Dravid, Paddy Upton, Pravin Amre, Sriram Sreedharan, and TA Sekar, and can’t be written off just as yet. IPL 10 may just turn out to be the year Delhi Daredevils turn their potential into performance.
Old faces
Zaheer Khan: The 38-year-old pacer is back as Delhi captain, looking fitter and raring to go. Zaheer is an interesting choice as captain of the pace-heavy Delhi unit, a team which boasts of the services of Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Chris Morris, and Mohammed Shami. However, as Zaheer has often shown in the past, he is an astute captain and by no means a pushover with the new ball. Zaheer was Delhi’s second-highest wicket taker last season and will be looking forward to go on field after a stint in the studio during India’s Test season.
Chris Morris: When Delhi bought Chris Morris for a whopping Rs 7 crore in the 2016 auction, not many would have guessed that he would go on to become their trump card, both with bat and ball. The million-dollar South African topped both the batting and bowling averages with 195 runs and 13 wickets in 12 matches for Delhi. However, even his best performance – an incredible 82 off 32 after talking 2/35 against Gujarat Lions – ended with a one-run loss, like many of Delhi’s close games. He will be hoping to overturn that jinx this season.
Amit Mishra: Mishi is an IPL war horse, having taken 124 wickets from 112 matches – the second highest in the league’s nine-year history so far. The leg-spinner also has the unique distinction of having taken three IPL hat-tricks. Last season, he was Delhi’s joint-highest wicket taker along with Morris. All these numbers point out to him being the key spinner for Delhi, a team that also has Jayant Yadav, Murugan Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem in their spinning reserves. If Delhi is to have any hopes of making the top four this season, they will be heavily banking on Amit Mishra’s experience to take them through.
Karun Nair: This year, Karun Nair entered the IPL as a household name after becoming India’s only second triple-centurion against England. But the Karnataka player is a proven T20 batsman as well, and was the second highest run-getter for Delhi last season with 357 runs. This year, the 25-year-old will set his sights even higher, benefitting from the international exposure he has got in the last few months. However, Nair will also be one of the senior batsmen who will have to carry the Delhi batting on his shoulders.
New Faces
Pat Cummins: The Aussie speedster was has been in terrific form and has acclimatised nicely to the Indian conditions, as we saw in the recently-concluded India vs Australia Test series. The 23-year-old was bought by Delhi for Rs 4.5 crore in the auction, and while he does not have enough experience in the IPL, he makes up for it with his sheer pace and accuracy. He is sure to get the new ball if he starts in the playing XI and it will be particularly interesting to see him bowl in tandem with Kagiso Rabada.
Kagiso Rabada: The South African pace sensation was the Delhi’s most expensive player at the 2017 auction for Rs 5 crore, and deservedly so for he has enjoyed an incredible season. The 21-year-old South African has held his own along the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Vernon Philander, especially in the longest format. He had skipped the IPL last year, choosing to play county cricket instead, and will be looking forward to make a strong debut in the league. The pacer has previously played the 2016 World T20 in India and will have a fair idea about the conditions here.
Strength
Strong domestic core: The core of the Delhi batting line-up will potentially be Aditya Tare, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant – all of them proven domestic performers. The bowing department has Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, once again established players in Indian conditions. This gives Delhi Daredevils a marked advantage, as many other teams bank heavily on their overseas stars. With the tutelage of Dravid, who has worked with many of these players in his capacity as India’s Under-19 and A coach, the domestic talents could outdo some of the more established players in the league.
Weakness
Injury depleted squad: The absence of JP Duminy, Quentin de Kock, Shreyas Iyer, and Angelo Mathews, in the initial stages at least, has heavily dented the team’s batting bulk. De Kock was their highest run-getter last season with 445 runs and played some really vital knocks, not to mention his handy glovework. Duminy was the stand-in captain for several games and contributed with both bat and ball. Iyer has been in remarkable form off late as well – he was the highest run-getter for Mumbai on their way to the Ranji Trophy final and even earned a call up to the Indian Test squad. Iyer has been a standout performer for Delhi as well winning the IPL Emerging Player of the Year award in the 2015 edition where he scored 439 from 14 games. It will be tough for Zaheer Khan and Co to cope up in the absence of these players and it will be up to the likes of Pant, Samson and Nair to fill in the boots of de Kock and Iyer.
Prediction
Here’s an optimistic prediction: Delhi will come tantalisingly close to the playoffs this year, and will actually cross the line. The reasoning is simple – they have the squad depth and will the right guidance and a little nerve in the clutch moment, they can go far.
X Factor
Rishabh Pant: The 19-year-old is an upcoming Indian star to watch out for and both Delhi Daredevils and his career need him to shine in this edition of the IPL. The swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman has put in stellar performances for Delhi in the domestic season and made 198 runs last year, on the back of which he made it to the Indian T20I squad as well. Pant is the kind of batsman who can win you a match on a good day, and single-handedly turn a match on its head on a great day. If Pant fires consistently, Delhi Daredevils can even go beyond the playoffs this season.
Full squad
Players: Zaheer Khan (captain), Angelo Mathews, Corey Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Ankit Bawne, Aditya Tare, Murugan Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Shashank Singh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Chama Milind, Khaleel Ahmed, Pratyush Singh.
Support Staff: Rahul Dravid, Paddy Upton, Pravin Amre, Sriram Sreedharan, TA Sekar