Delhi Capitals

In Pant’s potential absence, Delhi will be heavily reliant on David Warner and Prithvi Shaw to score quick runs at the top of the batting order. 

But there’s good reason for the Capitals to be installed as one of the favorites with the bookmakers to finally lift the trophy in 2023, and that’s down to the quality and variety of their bowling attack. Anrich Nortje is as quick as they come, while Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman and Axar Patel all have a strong pedigree in T20 cricket.

Latest Delhi Capitals News

Standout Delhi Capitals Players

Delhi Capitals Captain – Rishabh Pant

The Delhi Capitals captain is Rishabh Pant, who was involved in a devastating car accident in 2022.

He is recovering well, according to reports. However, it has been suggested that he may be forced to miss IPL 2023 due to the injuries he suffered in the crash.

At times, Pant’s captaincy and decision-making were called into question at IPL 2022. However, this Delhi Capitals team does have other natural leaders in the dressing room.

David Warner and Rovman Powell have leadership experience at international level, while Manish Pandey has captained in domestic cricket for Karnataka. 

Best Bowler – Kuldeep Yadav

Although Shardul Thakur will be missed – he has been traded to the Kolkata Knight Riders – this is still a Delhi Capitals team with plenty of bowling prowess.

Leading the attack will be the super-fast South African Anrich Nortje, and Khaleel Ahmed, who helped himself to 16 wickets at IPL 2022.

The supporting cast includes the skillful Mustafizur Rahman and Lungi Ngidi, with all-rounders Axar Patel and Mitchell Marsh getting through their fair share of overs. Veteran campaigner Ishant Sharma has also been brought in for 2023, alongside the talented Mukesh Kumar.

However, perhaps the standout of the Delhi Capitals players from a bowling perspective is Kuldeep Yadav, whose subtle spin variations beguile even the best batsmen. He took 21 wickets at IPL 2022. 

Best Batsman – David Warner

If Pant is to miss IPL 2023, it would be a huge loss to this Delhi Capitals team – he remains one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket.

The experienced David Warner will look to set the tone at the top of the innings, while more will be expected from Prithvi Shaw in the absence of Pant.

Powell ranked ninth for sixes hit at IPL 2022, so he and Marsh will form part of an explosive middle order. New signings Rilee Rossouw and Phil Salt also have plenty of T20 pedigree between them, as does IPL regular Manish Pandey.

Best Player – Rishabh Pant

This Delhi Capitals team have plenty of strength in depth, which is one of the reasons why they are so well fancied to compete for the title in 2023.

As far as the standout Delhi Capitals players are concerned, Man of the Match bettors will be only too aware of the upside to backing Pant, who is capable of winning any game with his innovative hitting.

Warner, Shaw and Salt have the ability to score big at the top of the order, while Rossouw, Powell and Marsh are contenders for Man of the Match honors given their six-hitting abilities.

While Nortje and Rahman will rely on pace variations to ensure that they bowl tight overs, wicket-taking responsibilities will be shouldered by Khaleel and Kuldeep – both are capable of claiming three or more scalps per innings and winning games for the Capitals.

Delhi Capitals Owner – GMR Group

When the IPL was founded back in 2008, the Delhi franchise – given the nickname ‘Daredevils’ at first, before changing to ‘Capitals’ in 2018 – was put up for auction.

The winning bidder, becoming Delhi Capitals’ owner, was GMR Group, a company best known for developing and building infrastructure projects across India. It paid $84m (around ₹700 crore) for the privilege. 

In 2018, GMR decided to divest some of its Delhi Capitals ownership, and so it sold a 50% stake in the franchise to JSW Group for ₹550 crore. This is a company with interests in energy, steel and construction, and it was JSW’s influence that saw the team’s name changed from Daredevils to Capitals.

Win-Loss Record and IPL Titles

100/118/4 since 2008, with 0 IPL titles

One of the founding members of the IPL, the Delhi Capitals are still yet to get their hands on the IPL trophy.

They came closest to that in 2020, when they reached the final. However, they would lose out to the Mumbai Indians, who knocked off the Capitals’ 156/7 target with eight balls to spare.

In 2021, the Capitals would win the league phase of the competition, having won 10 of their 14 games. Alas, they suffered agonizing defeats in both Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 – losing with just two balls to spare in the first playoff game and then in a last-ball decider against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second.

In Pant’s first year as captain in 2022, Delhi finished just short of the playoff places – missing out on fourth place by just two points to Royal Challengers Bangalore. To make matters worse, they had a better net run rate than Bangalore, and would have qualified had they beaten the Mumbai Indians in their final game.

Highest Score – 231/4 vs Kings XI Punjab

The Delhi Capitals team have breached the 200-run mark on 10 occasions, but the greatest day for their batsmen came back in April 2011 when they racked up an incredible 231/4 against Kings XI Punjab (now known as the Punjab Kings).

Amazingly, the next three highest scores made by Delhi all came against the Kolkata Knight Riders: 215/1, 219/4 and 228/4.

As far as individual player scores are concerned, Pant holds the dual distinction of being the all-time leading run-scorer for the Delhi Capitals and recording the best innings – 128 not out, which was bludgeoned off 63 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018.