IPL 2017: Can Delhi Daredevils ‘punch above their weight’?

This year, too, Delhi Daredevils look strong in the fast bowling department with buys like Kagiso Rabada, Mohammad Shami and Pat Cummins in the mix

By: Ankit Banerjee |
March 30, 2017 1:16 pm

Since the advent of the money-spinning Indian Premier League, Delhi Daredevils have never gone the distance. When they were bought back in 2008, they were supposed to be the fifth most expensive team. But as they say, cricket—like football—is a team sport and a good combination is key to success. Daredevils have been fortunate to have the services of AB de Villiers and Zaheer Khan and also, Kevin Pietersen in the past but they have not performed as they or the GMR group, the owner of the Delhi franchise, may have hoped for. They have already had a setback as their premier batsman Jean Paul Duminy will not feature this year.

In their 10 years of IPL run, Daredevils’ best finishes have been making to a couple of semi-finals in the inaugural edition and in 2009. But it has been disappointing that way for the owners, who have tried various combinations but none of which has clicked big.

Combination (strengths and weaknesses)

This year, too, they look strong in the fast bowling department with buys like Kagiso Rabada, Mohammad Shami and Pat Cummins in the mix. They also have utility all-rounders like Chris Morris, Angelo Matthews, Carlos Brathwaite and Corey Anderson; these players will bring in the power element and also roll their arms over. Young Rishabh Pant, in all likelihood, will keep wickets, though they also have Sanju Samson in their arsenal. It could also very well be that both of them make the eleven. When we look at their top order batting, apart from Quinton de Kock, it does not look that heavy. The big Indian names in this team are going to be Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer. They also will have quality spin services of leggie Amit Mishra, M Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem.

Our @IPL saga with @DelhiDaredevils begins with the one who has always been there for the team – #RahulDravid. #DilliBoysFeelWelcome pic.twitter.com/na07UiLocW

— Pullman New Delhi (@PullmanNewDelhi) March 29, 2017

Player to watch out for: Navdeep Saini

Place the ball at the right spot, share it with us and don’t forget to have some fun. Let’s see what you’ve got Dilli. #DilDilliHai pic.twitter.com/g1Q0rpHHZw

— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) March 29, 2017

Complete squad: Zaheer Khan, Pat Cummins, Jayant Yadav, Chris Morris, Pratyush Singh, Sam Billings, Mohammad Shami, Quinton de Kock (doubtful), Shahbaz Nadeem, Carlos Brathwaite, Shreyas Iyer, Angelo Mathews, Sanju Samson, Corey Anderson, Rishabh Pant, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Chama Milind, SK Ahmed, Ankeet Bawne, Aditya Tare, M Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Shashank Singh, Karun Nair.