IPL Auction 2022, DC analysis: Delhi Capitals make most of small budget to build core and buy experience – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Delhi Capitals quite often found themselves at the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) league table in the past decade, failing to make it to the playoffs for six straight seasons from 2013 to 2018.

But for the last three seasons, they have been one of the most consistent sides, reaching the final once and making playoffs on all three occasions. The turnaround came about with the appointment of Australia great Ricky Ponting as a coach and by investing in a core that largely comprised of young players alongside some proven campaigners.

In David Warner, DC have acquired one of the best IPL batters of all time. Image: Sportzpics for IPL

Thus, it’s a no-brainer they would have entered the 2022 IPL mega auction with the hopes of putting the core back together. But after retaining some of them — Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Anrich Nortje — DC were left with the smallest purse, Rs 47.5 crore, and were up against it from the very start as the auction began with former Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan going under the hammer.

They went after Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan but failed in their quest. It was time for Plan B. It was time to expand the core with new players and in this mission, DC opted for experienced players instead of choosing to go for young players who promise a future potential.

David Warner, a bonafide IPL legend, was the first purchase. The Australian had a below-par last season but the 2021 T20 World Cup, where the world champion was the second-highest run-getter, was just another reminder of how impactful he can be. World Cup final hero Mitchell Marsh was added to further provide experience and strength to the squad. Two World Cup winners for a total of Rs 12.75 crore, DC certainly aced the early part of the auction.

Star all-rounder Shardul Thakur was their biggest purchase in the auction for Rs 10.75 crore, but a player who can bowl with the new ball and at the death deserves every bit of that bid. His prowess with the bat is another dimension that adds more balance to DC’s squad. Delhi also snapped up Mustafizur Rahman (Rs 2 crore), KS Bharat (Rs 2 crore) and Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 2 Crore) for decent money, players who can add great value to the team if luck is in the team’s favour.

Mandeep Singh and Rovman Powell are middle-order options and while they could have done better in that area, their purse proved to be a constraint. Overall, DC have a group of solid 15-17 players which makes them a team to look forward to.

Delhi Capitals squad

Foreign batters: David Warner, Rovman Powell

Indian batters: Prithvi Shaw, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Ashwin Hebbar, Ripal Patel

Foreign wicket-keepers: Tim Seifert

Indian wicket-keepers: Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat

Foreign all-rounders: Mitchell Marsh

Indian all-rounders: Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Lalit Yadav

Foreign fast bowlers: Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman

Indian fast bowlers: Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Indian spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal

Strong area: Warner and Shaw as openers. Marsh at N0 3 followed by Pant at 4. There’s no doubt Delhi are going to have one of the strongest top 4 in the league this time around. The opening combination of Warner and Shaw is expected to provide them the required impetus in the Powerplay while Marsh can play the role of the accumulator and crisis man as he did for Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup final.

Pant will be playing multiple roles for DC — captain, wicket-keeper, enforcer, finsiher, etc. — has the talent to come good on all the fronts.

With Shardul, Sakariya, Khaleel and Nagarkoti in the squad, DC also have a lot of variety in the Indian pace department, the added advantage being a good mix of right-hand, left-hand fast bowlers.

Area of concern: The express pace of Rabada and Nortje was one of the strengths of DC’s over the last two seasons. They would have loved to have another searing pace bowler to partner Nortje this time around but would have to make do with Ngidi and Mustafizur. Another cover for Nortje who is out of action due to a hip injury would have placed DC in a better position.

Their spin department also looks a bit thin in absence of Ashwin and Amit Mishra. Kuldeep Yadav has struggled in recent times and in case he fails to show up, Axar would have to do the bulk of the work.

Best buy: David Warner (Rs 6.25 Crore)

Worst buy: None

Click here to check Delhi Capitals’ full squad

Click here to read auction analysis for remaining IPL teams

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