Delhi Daredevils (DD) had an unlucky Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 as they missed the qualifier spot by a whisker as they lost matches towards the end of the season. This time around they have the resources to go all guns blazing in IPL Auction 2017. Though, DD’s mentor Rahul Dravid made a great effort previous year to uplift the team’s status in the league. They will be hoping to reach IPL finals for the first time. Let’s have a look at players for whom DD might bid for.
Domestic players:
DD’s mentor and India’s former player Rahul Dravid has always tried to give youngsters a chance. Dravid has been closely attached to India’s domestic circuit and India A players. On their expedition, he helped a few batsman help their technique. He watched the players grow closely. Prithivi Shaw has been identified by many as a prospective future. Dravid might make DD owners pick him into the side, buying him would be a good bargain.
Unmukt Chand, Aditya Tare, Varun Aaron and Aniket Choudhary are players DD might spend on. Chand is a decent batsman in the top or middle order. Tare can keep wickets and also keep the wickets. Aaron is one of those Indian players who can bowl at blinding speeds. Choudhary can be an asset for DD in the bowling department.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant has been doing well in the domestic circuit along with international circuit. He bowled well in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too, delivering economic spells. He can spearhead a bowling attack. He bowled good spells against Bangladesh as well, bowling with a decent pace attacking the batsmen with his short balls.
Irfan Pathan: The underrated all-rounder
Pathan might not be the hot property before IPL Auction 2017. But, Pathan’s talent is unmatched. The all-rounder will provide balance to the team. He was highly under-utilised in last season by Rising Pune Supergiants. He has played for DD before, they might win back him this year as well.
Win back Imran Tahir!
This might sound bizarre but it is a possibility. Releasing him was the only blunder DD committed. It will be a lot more than 1 crore if DD decide to bid for him. Winning him back would not be an easy task keeping in mind his recent performances in the international circuit.
Dale Steyn-gun!
South African fast bowler Steyn is still one of the most dangerous bowlers in the world. He can be the perfect addition to DD’s bowling department. Steyn was seen warming up the benches in IPL 2016 in Gujarat Lions camp. If Dravid picks him up, there is not a slight possibility that he will underuse Steyn.
What did they do wrong?
They made one of the most terrible decisions before IPL Player Auction by releasing South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir in December. Tahir went onto become the No.1 limited overs bowler (both in ODIs and T20Is). They bought Tahir for a rather low price of 1 crore. This time around he will be expected to go at a higher price. His recent performance will enable franchisees to go big as he picked up a fifer in T20I against New Zealand.
They also released Nathan Coulter-Nile which seemed a bit harsh as the Australian all-rounder had a decent run in the previous edition. Though, he got to play in only four games. The only good decision they made was to release Pawan Negi who they bought for a whopping 8.5 crores.
Money in the bank:
Delhi Daredevils will have the second highest purse of the franchisees with 21.5 crores at their disposal.
Retained players:
Jean-Paul Duminy, Mohammed Shami, Quinton de Kock, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Zaheer Khan, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Carlos Braithwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, CV Milind, Syed Ahmed, Pratyush Singh, Sam Billings
Released players:
Nathan Coulter-Nile, Imran Tahir, Joes Paris, Pawan Negi, Pawan Suyal, Akhil Herwadkar, Mahipal Lomror
