Delhi Daredevils started their IPL campaign by qualifying for the semi-finals. They finished at the top of the table in the following season but eventually couldn't reach the finals. Since then, the Delhi Team doesn't look the brightest of the lot, making it to the playoffs only twice in 10 seasons. They are a team who have finished at the bottom of the table for the most number of times and haven't reached an IPL final even once. They even had a very talented squad with them at some occasions but they didn't get the result that their fans were hoping for. They are a team who like to build up their squad from scratch for the most number of times which leads to a pool of new players and coaching staff every year, making it difficult to have stability and coordination within the team.
We are here with a series of IPL Dream Teams wherein we will be making All Time XIs of the current eight teams in IPL. During this venture, I am being assisted by Raunit Raj and Amit Vikram Singh who have immense knowledge in the field of cricket. We have gone through every player of each team and tried to pick the best of the lot after considering their statistics and performances for the team. We started with Mumbai Indians then had a look at Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. Now we bring to you the All Time XI of Delhi Capitals or Delhi Daredevils.
*Statistics of the players are only for their Delhi Daredevils or Delhi Capitals career (both in IPL and Champions League)
1. Virendra Sehwag (c) (2008-13)
Sehwag was the marquee player for the Delhi team in 2008. Viru is one of the most destructive batsmen in any format of the game. He is the highest run getter of the franchise and has an excellent strike rate of 158. Sehwag has also led the side during his time at DD and has somewhat a decent record. This makes us give him an extra responsibility for this dream team.
Innings: 85 Runs: 2382 Average: 29.77 S/R*: 158.37
*S/R - Strike Rate
2. David Warner ✈️ (2009-13)
Warner has enjoyed greater success in the IPL with SRH but his tenure with Delhi is impressive too. He holds the record for the highest run getter by a foreign batsman in IPL. He will form a formidable opening pair with Sehwag.
Innings: 56 Runs: 1456 Average: 28.54 S/R: 132.84
3. Gautam Gambhir (2008-10, 2018)
Delhi has been a team which has not been able to keep their players with them for long. Most of their players have enjoyed greater success with their other teams.
For No. 3 spot, Gambhir had a tough fight with Shikhar Dhawan. Gambhir has scored at an average of 27 but has an experience of playing at No. 3 before. Gambhir's experience will definitely be a plus point for the team.
Innings: 48 Runs: 1200 Average: 27.27 S/R: 120.24
4. Shreyas Iyer (2015- )
The Current Captain of the franchise has shown loyalty to the team and has performed for them. Iyer is one of the finest T20 batsmen of the Indian team and probably one of the upcoming superstars. He is an undisputed choice in this team.
Innings: 62 Runs: 1681 Average: 30.56 S/R: 126.96
5. Rishabh Pant (wk) (2016- )
Rishabh Pant has some very big shoes to fill in for the Indian Cricket Team. The respect and love that Dhoni carries behind is spectacular and it would have been difficult for any one who was ready to succeed him. For Pant, his International Career has not been that smooth till date, but his IPL one has been on a roll for quite some time now. Pant is already the second highest run getter of the franchise and one of the superstars of the franchise. He has scored at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 162.
Innings: 54 Runs: 1736 Average: 36.16 S/R: 162.69
6. JP Duminy ✈️ (2014-16)
Delhi had services of players like Kevin Pietersen, AB De Villiers and Mahela Jayawardene. They played for a season or two, scored runs and left. Out of these, Duminy was the one who impressed us the most. Scoring at an average of 44, Duminy will even help us with some overs of spin bowling. Duminy provides us with the balance in our batting line up wherein he could be promoted anywhere up the order.
Innings: 35 Runs: 1015 Average: 44.13 S/R: 130.79
7. Chris Morris ✈️ (2016-19)
With Morris at 7, the batting line up doesn't look that strong enough. However, Morris has shown some brilliant all round performance for Delhi. He is the fourth highest wicket taker and has a batting strike rate of 160. He can be destructive with the bat and finish the innings well.
Matches: 34 S/R: 160.52 Wickets: 41
8. Amit Mishra (2008-10, 2015- )
Mishra ji is an obvious choice in this XI. He has taken over 100 wickets for the franchise and is one of the most successful bowlers in the IPL.
Matches: 96 Wickets: 101 E/R*: 7.36
*E/R - Economy Rate
9. Shabaz Nadeem (2011-18)
Nadeem's domestic record is an incredible one. He has taken wickets and led his Jharkhand side really well. For Delhi, Nadeem has tried to keep his bowling tight and be economical. The duo of Nadeem and Mishra looks to be a good one.
Matches: 61 Wickets: 40 E/R: 7.36
10. Morne Morkel ✈️ (2011-13)
Morkel is the second highest wicket taker of the franchise. He won the Purple Cap award with the team in 2012 and has taken over 50 wickets. He finds a place above Kagiso Rabada and Dirk Nannes in the team.
Matches: 41 Wickets: 51 E/R: 7.52
11. Ashish Nehra (2009-13)
Umesh Yadav has more wickets than Ashish Nehra for Delhi but still Nehra looks like a better option here. With a decent average of 22 and an economy of 7.4, Nehra makes the cut.
Matches: 30 Wickets: 36 E/R: 7.41
Do tell us if you have had any other player in mind who might have found a place in the XI. This is the seventh article of our IPL Dream Team Series. We have just one more to go. Stay Tuned. Keep Reading Openions!
- Kshitij
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