Delhi Capitals has been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL over the last 4 seasons reaching the playoffs on 3 of those occasions. In the last edition, however, they just missed out on the qualification finishing 5th on the points table. Though they didn’t make too many changes to their squad from the previous edition, the balance of the side greatly shifted due to the unfortunate accident with their regular skipper Rishabh Pant who is ruled out of the entire tournament.
In his absence, the Delhi Capitals will be led by the IPL legend himself David Warner and the left-hander opener from Australia has enjoyed great success in the IPL with respect to leading the side. He was the captain of the SRH side that won the IPL in 2016 and he would be delighted to lead the side from the front once again in this edition.
Apart from this forced change, the Capitals team looks like a well-oiled machine and a complete unit with proven match-winners on their side. In the auctions, they brought the South African hard-hitting batter Rilee Rossouw for a huge sum of 4.60 crores but we have to wait & see if he is included in the playing XI straightaway. Another useful buy could be that of Manish Pandey and he will very well fit them in the middle order adding much-needed experience in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
We will look at the probable playing XI for the capitals when they take on the Lucknow Super Giants in an away game at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow on the 1st of April 2023.
Delhi Capitals Complete Squad for IPL 2023: Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan, Phil Salt, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw
Predicted Starting XI for DC in IPL 2023
Openers: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw
David Warner as we all know has been appointed the skipper of the Delhi Capitals team in this forthcoming edition of the IPL. His form coming into the tournament has been up & down but the 36-year-old veteran is a certified legend when it comes to the Indian Premier League. He is the league’s 4th highest run-getter and the highest by an overseas player with 5668 runs in 155 games at close to 42. Last year, Warner once again shined in the IPL scoring 432 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of more than 150 which is simply outstanding.
His opening partner is likely to be the youngster Prithvi Shaw who has decent IPL numbers to date but is yet to have a breakthrough season to take him to the next level. This season could very well be the year of Shaw as he is now the senior most Indian batsman in the side with Pant missing out. Shaw didn’t feature in all of DC’s games last year but he did play 10 games where he scored 283 at a strike rate of 153.
Middle-Order: Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan
Mitchell Marsh has been a revelation for the Australian side in the limited-overs format of the game since being asked to play at the top order. He had a dream T20 World Cup in 2021 for Australia and even in the recent ODI series against India where he made 197 runs in 3 innings at a strike of 131.08 which is quite outstanding in ODIs. In the previous edition of IPL, Marsh played 8 games scoring 251 runs at a strike rate of 132 but this time form is in his side coming into this world cup.
Manish Pandey is an IPL veteran playing for different sides over the last 14 years and this is his first season with the Delhi Capitals. In the 160 IPL games, Pandey has scored 3648 runs at 29.90 per wicket but the real problem lies with his consistency. DC would want him to give stability to the middle order, especially in the absence of a player like Pant. Sarfaraz Khan would be the keeper of the side in this edition and this talented batsman has been in some form when it comes to red-ball cricket. It is time that Sarfaraz converts all his potential into runs in this IPL.
All-rounders: Rovman Powell, Axar Patel
Rovman Powell is a powerful hitter of the ball and DC has invested greatly in him since the last season. He featured in all of DC’s games last season scoring 250 at a strike rate of just under 150, and in the international games for West Indies, Rovman has shown his usefulness as a bowler which could be handy for the Capitals. If he scores a quick-fire score more often, then DC’s chances of posting good totals will be high.
The next all-rounder that the DC has is Axar Patel. The left-hander has slowly but steadily increased his capabilities as a batsman for India and his stroke play has improved by leaps & bounds. He was one of the few batsmen who were comfortable playing in the rank-turners in the recent India-Australia series and would really be handy. The DC vice-captain has played 122 games in IPL taking 101 wickets and scoring 1135 runs.
Bowlers: Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed/ Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Anrich Nortje is an automatic starter for the Delhi Capitals and the pacer has proved to be a prolific wicket-taker in the IPL for them since making his debut in the 2020 edition. In the 30 games, Nortje has picked 43 wickets at an economy rate of 8.06 which is really amazing for a quick bowler. He is a class bowler and DC would want him to lead the pace attack that includes a lot of Indian local talent.
They have the likes of left-arm pacers like Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed who both are exciting. We can expect one of them to start in the DCs playing XI in their opening contest. Kamlesh Naharkoti, another Indian pacer can get an extended run than he got in the last few seasons and the youngster has missed a lot of cricket owing to injuries.
Last but not the least, DC will have their chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. After an amazing run with India in both the white-ball formats, it is time for Kuldeep to establish himself as the best Indian spinner in this IPL. He has taken 61 wickets in 59 games including a 21-wicket haul in the last edition of the IPL.
You can find here the other franchise’s probable starting XI for IPL 2023 here.
Delhi’s Probable Playing XI: David Warner (C), Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan (WK), Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed/ Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
