While there are places the team can improve, it still looks a side that can go the distance in the IPL and win the coveted trophy for the first time.
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Delhi Capitals (DC) will come into the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being dealt two massive blows. First was the injury to Mitchell Marsh which saw him sit out last year’s edition of the BBL. It is uncertain if the Aussie will be at his best in the IPL, although his performance in the Border-Gavaskar trophy was quite impressive. The second blow is the unavailability of their regular skipper Rishabh Pant. Pant was involved in a nasty accident towards the end of last year and will be out of action for the time being. David Warner will replace the Indian wicket-keeper as the Capitals’ skipper.
A positive angle to this would be that Warner is a proven captain in the Indian Premier League. He was the one who led the SunRisers Hyderabad to IPL glory back in 2016 and remains one of the few overseas skippers to have achieved this feat. At first glance, the Delhi team seems to be a well-balanced 25-man squad. The team traded Shardul Thakur to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Aman Khan.
Although they missed out on Cameron Green, the Capitals did some fine business at the mini auction in December last year which saw them purchase the services of Phil Salt, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Ishant Sharma and Rilee Rossouw. While there are places the team can improve, it still looks a side that can go the distance in the IPL and win the coveted trophy for the first time. With that in mind, here are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2023.
The Capitals have a well balanced and dynamic batting lineup. There seems to be a stable mix of youth and experience in that order. The likes of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw can play explosive cricket and can also be sensible when the situation requires them to be. Youngster Yash Dhull, who impressed with the bat last season is an asset to the team as well. Players like Mitchell Marsh, Axar Patel, Phil Salt Sarfaraz Khan and Lalit Yadav are also useful with the bat.
The team also has good spin duo in the form of Axar and Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has been in fantastic form this season and on a spinning track like the one at the Feroz Shah Kotla, those two can wreak havoc for any opposition batting lineup. DC has a decent pace attack as well with the likes of Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman in their ranks.
Perhaps the biggest weakness of the Delhi Capitals this season is the lack of a quality backup for Mitchell Marsh. Marsh is one of the top-rated all-rounders in the world today and should he suffer an injury, there really is no one the Capitals can completely put their trust in. The likes of Lalit Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan and Ripal Patel are decent players, but Marsh is in a league of his own.
The 2023 season will prove to be a massive opportunity for the Indian youngsters of the Delhi Capitals to prove their point so that they could be regular starters in the Indian national team in the future. The likes of Yash Dhull and Chetan Sakariya will have multiple chances to prove their worth on the big stage. Aman Khan is also one those plyers who will have some hype going into the tournament.
The biggest threat that the Capitals face will be a situation where Mitchell Marsh suffers and injury and is out for a considerable number of games. The Aussie is an integral part of the DC squad and there is no one quite like the dynamic all-rounder who can play as a replacement.
