Despite being struck with multiple injuries in the lead-up to IPL 2024, the Capitals played an exciting brand of cricket. They might have finished sixth in the points table but a closer look will reveal that the Capitals had the same number of points (14) as that of Royal Challengers Bengalu who qualified for the playoffs. It was the net run rate that separated RCB from the rest including CSK, DC, and LSG.
Bolstered by the return of Rishabh Pant, the GMR-co-owned group was one of the few franchises to opt for a gung-ho approach at the top of the order. In half of their total matches, the Capitals mustered over 200 runs, including gargantuan scores of 272, 266, and 257 against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Mumbai Indians respectively. One of the primary reasons was the blistering starts that Jake Fraser-McGurk offered inside the powerplay, followed by the exploits of Tristan Stubbs and Rishabh Pant. Unfortunately, two of them are not on the franchise’s retained lists including the captain who parted ways after eight years of service to make himself available in the auction. The management retained four players including Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crore), Kuldeep Yadav ( INR 13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs ( INR 10 crore), Abishek Porel ( 4 crore). With INR 73 Crores and 2 RTM cards left in the bank, it would be interesting to contemplate how the Capitals go about their business in the IPL 2025 Auction.
Powerplay
The personal setback and injury of Harry Brook and Mitchell Marsh turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Capitals last year. This compelled the Ricky Ponting-coached unit to rope in the service of Fraser-McGurk who was astounding at the top of the order, filling the void of injured David Warner in the majority of his games. This resulted in Delhi’s impressive strike rate of 168.45 inside the powerplay, the second-best among all teams. Although they did lose two wickets on average in this period, the motto was clear to fire blazing all guns in the first six overs. The intent relatively suits the playing style at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi whose one of the used strips is a batting haven.
In order to maintain the same approach, the Capitals will have to use the RTM card on Fraser-McGurk, given he falls under their budget. Otherwise, they will have to target similar players such as Matt Short, Evin Lewis, Faf du Plessis, or Finn Allen. They will also need a good number three if Stubbs donn the middle-order role. In that case, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Shai Hope, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, or Aiden Markram could be some useful names. Apparently, there are murmurs in the air about the Capitals eyeing to go all out to bring back Shreyas and appoint him as the leader of the pack. The only time when they reached the finals in 2020 was under his captaincy, before falling short against Mumbai Indians’ fifth title.
Unlike the batting, DC’s bowling department faltered inside the powerplay phase. They had the worst economy of 10.67 despite picking up wickets at a decent rate of 20.16. Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma quite often offered the breakthrough with the ball but the bowling group was belted left, right, and center. Having released all their bowlers, a good option would be to bring back Trent Boult, who can be the new ball specialist. Other valuable options could be Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Mitchell Starc, and Jason Behrendorff. With more than average budget left, the Capitals should eye to invest in at least one renowned bowler.
Middle overs
Transitioning to the middle-overs phase, DC was poor with the bat, losing wickets at the rate of 3.28 per game. Stubbs, Axar, and Pant were quite often fell short of assists from the other end during the last edition. Moreover, their strike rate wasn’t that appealing with DC accumulating runs at 140.18, the third-lowest in the phase. Having played a majority of their games in high-scoring venues, the numbers didn’t quite justify their potential. Although the think tank managed to retain Axar and Stubbs, it is important to invest in quality lower middle-order batters. Marcus Stoinis, David Miller, Sikandar Raza, Moeen Ali, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir, and Abhinav Manohar could be a few options to look out for.
The Capitals were moderate with the ball during the middle overs phase with Axar and Kuldeep bowling maximum overs. But Kuldeep’s economy surged above 8.5 last season, and the medium pacers failed to be efficient. Perhaps, Rasikh Salem was the only bowler who seemed in control of the variations. Without a doubt, he should be one of the RTM buys for DC in the upcoming auction. Salem was with MI and KKR earlier but injuries laybacks and bowling action concerns constantly pulled him down before the youngster finally got to showcase his calibre last season with the Capitals. As DC’s spin unit is more or less sorted, they could show interest in some exciting pace bowling all-rounders such as Azmatullah Omarzai, Shardul Thakur, Manoj Bhandage, Suryansh Shegde, or Romario Shepherd.
Death overs
Losing considerable wickets in each phase was the hallmark of Capitals in the previous edition. Similarly, they lost over two wickets on average across the 13 innings batted in this phase. Although increased fall of wickets is a common trait in the slog overs of white ball cricket, the Capitals will have to ensure some valuable options who could play the role of a finisher. Given Stubbs and Axar’s flexibility in the middle order, DC will have to bulk up with some power hitters who are consistent with the bat. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Rovman Powell, Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Dhas, Dinesh Bana, and Shaun Roger could be some valuable picks.
Capitals’ death-over woes aren’t just limited to the batting unit but also in the bowling department, Despite having a bowling strike rate of 11.52, their economy read 12.44 – the worst among all teams in the slog overs phase. Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, and Ishant Sharma failed to curb the net run rate last season while Rasikh Salem looked the only sound bowler in the particular phase. The management should use their RTM card for the young gun from Jammu and look for additional options to complement. Nathan Ellis, Nuwan Thusara, Mustafizur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Kagiso Rabada could be some of the names to watch out for.
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