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Over the years, the Delhi Capitals (formerly: Delhi Daredevils) carried the reputation of bringing in strong sides on paper, but could not match their potential with performances.
Interestingly, before the auctions in December last year, DC let go of their retained all-rounder Chris Morris, along with Trent Boult, Colin Munro, and Colin Ingram.
Amongst the new faces in the squad, the franchise owners went for experienced Test stars such as Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ajinkya Rahane.
Let us look at the strongest playing XI for the Delhi Capitals this season:
Shikhar Dhawan
Coming back from a freak injury to the knee, Shikhar Dhawan got injured while fielding in one of the ODIs against Australia.
Dhawan suffered a long layoff from the national side and came back to fitness with his outings in the DY Patil tournament.
Eyeing his place in the T20 World Cup squad, Dhawan will look to make a strong statement, in this edition of IPL.
Jason Roy
With Jason Roy available, the Capitals’ think tank featuring Ricky Ponting will look to play him for the fireworks he can provide with the new ball. Featuring for Quetta Gladiators in PSL 2020. Roy has picked off decent form, with few impressive performances.
Prithvi Shaw
With both Dhawan and Roy in the side, Prithvi Shaw can only bat one-wicket down. Shaw’s comeback into the national side has been patched up in New Zealand.
Therefore, there’s much at stake for the explosive Mumbai batsman, who comes in with a huge reputation behind him.
Shreyas Iyer
After Gautam Gambhir abruptly stepped down from captaincy in the middle of 2018, Shreyas Iyer has done well to keep his franchise going under his captaincy.
The crafty right-handed batsman has recently tasted international success at the much-debated number four slot in the Indian team.
Rishabh Pant
Another batsman from the Indian team who will look to revive his career through the upcoming edition of IPL, using the big stage, is Rishabh Pant.
Last few months, Pant has copped a substantial amount of criticism for squandering opportunities with his attacking mindset.
However, his record for the Capitals has been impeccable, with over 684 runs in the 2018 edition, following up with a tally of 488 runs in the subsequent edition.
Marcus Stoinis
The recent edition of Big Bash League belonged to only one man, Marcus Stonis. In BBL, Stoinis scored 533 runs and had 14 scalps to his name.
In the auction, Capitals had no hesitation in acquiring the services of the Melbourne Stars’ all-rounder. Stoinis provides a three-dimensional balance to the side, with his lusty blows, gun fielding, and handy death overs.
Keemo Paul
Another important player who will add the much-needed balance in the Delhi lineup is West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul.
In the absence of injured Chris Woakes, Paul could offer a couple of overs at the death with his change of pace and slower deliveries.
When the time comes, Ponting and Co. will surely look forward to Paul’s contribution with the bat down the order.
Kagiso Rabada
During the early stages of the tournament, in the absence of Kagiso Rabada due to injury, Nepal sensation Sandeep Lamichanne should make it into the XI.
However, once Rabada comes back into fitness, their ace bowler will surely feature with the ball for the Capitals.
R Ashwin
After being appointed as the Kings XI Punjab captain, Ravichandran Ashwin was released from the squad ahead of the auction.
This is Ashwin’s fourth team in his IPL career, and now the Tamil Nadu offie will be looking to boost his skills in white-ball cricket.
Amit Mishra
One of the most successful bowlers for the Delhi-based franchise, as well as in the history of IPL, Amit Mishra has 157 dismissals to his name.
His form of late has been excellent, featuring for Railways in First-Class cricket. Together with Ashwin, and Lamichhane later on the dry, spinning wickets later in the season, Capitals will be a force to reckon with the ball.
Ishant Sharma
Another Indian international who will be looking to revive his white-ball career is Ishant Sharm. He now has the opportunity to silence his critics in the IPL.
With his supreme Test bowling spells, Sharma went on to state that he is good enough at the international level.
It is only a matter of time when we see him translating his red-ball prowesses in the limited-overs format.
Delhi Capitals’ Best XI for IPL 2020:
Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Keemo Paul, Kagiso Rabada, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma.
