Look at the tremendous improvement in Delhi Capital's performance in the IPL: IPL 2018 – 8th position, IPL 2019 – 3rd position, IPL 2020 – 2nd position, and IPL 2021 – 1st position at the end of league stage matches! Delhi played Qualifier 2 in 2019, Final in 2020, and Qualifier 2 in 2021. The most common link in the last three outstanding seasons of Delhi in IPL is- Shikhar Dhawan. Even though Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for the DC for three consecutive years, the Delhi Capitals did not retain him, and The second shocker came in Kagiso Rabada. He was also left out from the retained players ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Delhi Capitals have shown more faith in Axar Patel and Prithvi Shaw over Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan. Rishabh Pant is now full-time captain of DC. Few questions were raised on social media when Shaw was retained, and Dhawan was left out. Four retained players are Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, and Anrich Nortje.
Performance of retained players of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022:
| Player | Role | Price | IPL 2021 Performance | T20 Performance in 2021 |
| Rishabh Pant | Left-hand batsman + WK | 16 Cr | 16M, 419 runs, 34.92 avg, 128.79 SR | 29M, 632 runs, 33.26 avg, 127.42 SR |
| Axar Patel | All-rounder | 9 Cr | 12M, 40 runs + 15W | 21M, 117 runs + 23W |
| Prithvi Shaw | Right-hand batsman | 7.5 Cr | 15M, 479 runs, 31.93 avg, 159.14 SR | 21M, 586 runs, 27.90 avg, 149.38 SR |
| Anrich Nortje | Right-arm fast bowler | 6.5 Cr | 8M, 12W, 6.16 economy | 25M, 33W, 6.15 economy |
- When Pant took charge of DC as captain, he promoted himself to number 4 and played an incredible role as a finisher for DC. He is likely to continue at the number 4 position.
- Prithvi Shaw has below-par average in recent IPL seasons, but he bats with a reasonable strike rate of 150. He will be the first choice opener for DC.
- Axar Patel performed very well with his arm-balls and spin bowling in the last season of IPL, which bagged him a retention spot in DC. He will also be playing a maximum number of matches in the IPL 2022.
- Anrich Nortje is one of the few consistent pace bowlers in the world right now. But unfortunately, he might not play this season of IPL 2022 due to fitness issues.
List of Indian players Delhi Capitals bought from the IPL Mega Auction 2022:
| Player | Role | Price | IPL 2021 Performance | SMAT 2021 Performance |
| KS Bharat | Right-hand batsman + WK | 2 Cr | 8M, 191 runs, 38.20 avg, 122.44 SR | 10M, 244 runs, 24.40 avg, 123.23 SR |
| Mandeep Singh | Right-hand batsman | 1.1 Cr | 1M, 15 runs, 15.00 avg, 107.14 SR | 9M, 198 runs, 99.00 avg, 144.53 SR |
| Ashwin Hebbar | Right-hand batsman | 20 L | – | 10M, 421 runs, 52.63 avg, 121.33 SR |
| Sarfaraz Khan | Right-hand batsman | 20 L | 2M, 0 runs | 5M, 115 runs, 23.00 avg, 126.37 SR |
| Lalit Yadav | All-rounder | 65 L | 7M, 68 runs + 4W | 10M, 222 runs + 8W |
| Praveen Dubey | All-rounder | 50 L | 3M, 7 runs + 0W | 5M, 48 runs + 4W |
| Yash Dhull | All-rounder | 50 L | – | – |
| Kamlesh Nagarkoti | All-rounder | 1.1 Cr | 1M, 0 runs + 0W | 6M, 44 runs + 7W |
| Ripal Patel | All-rounder | 20 L | 2M, 25 runs + 0W | 11M, 228 runs + 0W |
| Vicky Ostwal | All-rounder | 20 L | – | – |
| Chetan Sakariya | Left-arm slow bowler | 4.2 Cr | 14M, 14W, 8.19 economy | 11M, 20W, 6.11 economy |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Left-arm chinaman bowler | 2 Cr | – | – |
| Khaleel Ahmed | Left-arm medium bowler | 5.25 Cr | 7M, 5W, 8.11 economy | 7M, 1W, 8.00 economy |
| Shardul Thakur | Right-arm medium bowler | 10.75 Cr | 16M, 21W, 8.81 economy | – |
- Out of these 15 Indian players, the following will regularly play in the squad: Shardul Thakur, Chetan Sakariya, Mandeep Singh/KS Bharat.
- DC has plenty of all+round options. Young and capable all-rounders can get a chance to play in case of injuries.
- DC has two good left-arm fast bowling options: Chetan and Khaleel. Chetan is likely to play in the first half of the season, and the rest depends on his form.
- Solid top-order batting options are in the squad. Bharat, Mandeep, and Hebbar.
- Nagarkoti is another good fast bowling option alongside Shardul.
- Lalit Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan are the second options for the all-rounder role.
List of foreign players Chennai Super Kings bought from the IPL 2022 mega auction:
| Player | Role | Price | IPL 2021 Performance | T20 Performance in 2021 |
| Tim Seifert | Right-hand batsman + WK | 50L | 1M, 2 runs, 2.00 avg, 50.00 SR | 36M, 623 runs, 20.77 avg, 108.16 SR |
| David Warner | Left-hand batsman | 6.25 Cr | 8M, 195 runs, 24.38 avg, 107.73 SR | 15M, 484 runs, 34.57 avg, 128.04 SR |
| Rovman Powell | Right-hand batsman | 2.8 Cr | – | 25M, 399 runs + 5W |
| Mitchell Marsh | All-rounder | 6.5 Cr | – | 36M, 1089 runs + 14W |
| Lungi Ngidi | Right-hand medium bowler | 50 L | 3M, 5W, 10.42 economy | 15M, 23W, 8.29 economy |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Left-arm medium bowler | 2 Cr | 14M, 14W, 8.41 economy | 48M, 59W, 7.49 economy |
Out of these six overseas players, the following are most likely to get into the playing 11:
David Warner, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Marsh, and Mustafizur Rahman.
- Heist-of-the-IPL-auction was David Warner. It was surprising that not many teams wanted Warner in their squad. He was a super steal-deal at just 6.25 Cr INR. He is Mr. Consistent of IPL.
- Lungi Ngidi will be replacing Kagiso Rabada in the squad. He is a good bowler with slower-ball abilities.
- Mustafizur with slow cutters in the death becomes lethal. But his place in the playing 11 depends on the team's needs. If the unit needs a batting all-rounder, Powell is an option. If the team needs a bowler, Fizz is the option.
- Marsh becomes a blind pick for the number 3 place in the squad with his career. He also provides a decent bowling option.
Strong Team Only On Paper?
DC, on paper, ticked all the boxes for a strong team. Batting with enough backups, checked. Quality, fast bowlers with specific roles, checked. Finishers, checked. One particular dent in the shiny squad is the spinners. DC currently does not have any quality spinners except Kuldeep Yadav. Only all-rounders. This may become an issue in the day matches or specific pitches. But the absence of a proper spinner may cause DC the title of IPL 2022.
Missing Middle Order?
Let's look at the middle order batting here. R Pant, Mandeep Singh, Axar Patel, and Shardul Thakur. Out of these four, only two are proper batters, and Axar and Lord Shardul are not reliable enough for finishing roles. This raises the question, despite buying tons of all-rounders, where is the strength and depth of the middle-order batting?
Probable, Ideal, and Stable Playing 11 for Chennai Super Kings:
Openers: D Warner, P Shaw
Middle Order: M Marsh, R Pant, Mandeep Singh
All-rounders: A Patel, R Powell
Bowlers: S Thakur, L Ngidi, M Rahman, C Sakariya
Players who can be hidden gems are K Nagarkoti, Mandeep Singh, KS Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Lalit Yadav.
Strength:
| Weakness:
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Opportunities:
| Threats:
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The Verdict
On paper, Delhi Capitals is a solid and competitive team. This team can continue to perform just like the previous three seasons of IPL. And DC now has The Lord Shardul himself! Jokes aside, Shardul is capable of taking wickets when needed the most. This season is a homecoming season for David Warner. It looks like the most robust in-form top order combination with David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in the team. One major issue everyone may be overlooking is the DC's performance on these four venues. Out of 22 matches across these four venues, they won only nine and lost 13. If Capitals are cautious enough under the guidance of Ricky Ponting, they are strong placeholders of playoffs.
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