New Delhi:For most of the IPL’s history, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were often mentioned in the same breath — two popular teams bound by an uncomfortable and rather embarrassing statistic: neither had ever lifted the trophy.
In recent years, their potential was always a talking point leading up to the seasons and the fanbase’s loyalty was unwavering. That narrative shifted last season when RCB finally broke their long-standing title drought, leaving Delhi as one of the league’s most prominent franchises still waiting for its first title.
As a new season begins, Delhi will be hoping to follow a similar path. Like RCB before their breakthrough, DC have spent years assembling competitive squads, producing standout players and occasionally threatening a deep run yet the final step has remained elusive.
Axar Patel’s appointment as captain last year was an interesting one. He was rewarded for his loyalty to this franchise, having played with them for the last six seasons. DC decided to make him captain despite having KL Rahul in the squad and it made sense.
Rahul had admitted to feeling pressured when leading Lucknow Super Giants and wanted a fresh, positive start in a new dressing room. It seems to have worked out. He appeared quite active with on-field calls and had a memorable season with the bat, scoring 539 runs at an average of 53.90 including three fifties and one century, without the captaincy label.
They may have finished fifth last year, with their season eventually going awry but they showed promise by winning four games in a row at the beginning. Unlike many IPL captains who arrive with an established leadership resume, Axar’s captaincy experience is relatively modest. Before the IPL, he led Gujarat in 17 T20 matches across domestic competitions, winning 10 of them.
Axar has been one of the franchise’s most consistent performers and a central tactical figure. There is also comfort in familiarity, having been with the Capitals since 2019, he understands the franchise’s dressing room dynamics and the conditions in which the team operates. His consistency was also awarded with vice-captaincy for the Indian team at the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
Nabi, Ngidi addition
DC have a fairly decent spin attack – in Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nagam—but what now appears to be a major strength this season is the variety within their pace attack, which combines left-arm swing, high pace, bounce and specialist death bowling.
At the centre of that unit is Mitchell Starc, who bowled some excellent spells last year. DC acquired Ranji Trophy’s leading wicket-taker Auqib Nabi for a whopping ₹8.4 crore at the auction, making him an excellent option to open the bowling with the new ball.
In his debut season, it remains to be seen if he will be in the starting XI but his ability to swing the ball both ways and the amount DC have splurged suggests he may well be a vital addition to their fast bowling stocks.
While wary that the J&K pacer’s impressive credentials are largely with the red-ball, Nabi has picked up 14 wickets at an economy of 5.77 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and 15 wickets at 7.55 runs per over in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
With talks of a potential India Test debut on the line, Nabi will have a platform as big as the IPL to showcase his skills beyond red-ball cricket. With new-ball bowling options sorted, DC also have T. Natarajan as a specialist bowler at the death, renowned for his execution in overs 16-20.
Alongside them, the Capitals possess another key addition in Lungi Ngidi. He already brought hard lengths and steep bounce to the table, but as seen during the T20 World Cup, his effective use of the slower ball was deceptive for many batters. He picked up 12 wickets in 10 matches at an economy of just 7.19. He got the ball to dip on the batters late, which made it difficult for them to pick the ball or get it away and that makes him both a bowler who can strike and be difficult to score off.
Dushmantha Chameera brings to the table raw speed, an attacking mindset and a genuine wicket-taking option. Meanwhile, Kyle Jamieson offers a different challenge altogether – his height allows him to extract steep bounce and awkward angles, especially with the new ball.
Batting shuffle
Previous season, DC lost all games at their homeground at the Arun Jaitley Stadium barring one Super Over win. They will be mindful of letting that repeat since it essentially proved to be their undoing in the latter half of the season.
Batting wise, their heavy investment in top and middle-order this year will give their line-up a considerable shake-up. Alongside Rahul, they need more match-winners. Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam played some cameos but their acquisitions of David Miller and Ben Duckett bring experience, versatility and left-handed balance to the line-up.
Their renewed faith in Prithvi Shaw, who was once considered a long-term investment, signals that they are backing him to make a comeback that is both vital individually and from the team’s point of view. Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka is also a prime addition to their bench strength.
