The Delhi Capitals (DC) will be coming into the IPL 2021 edition with the most confidence, having made it into the finals of the previous edition in IPL 2020 which was played in UAE. The IPL 2021 will be played from April 9- May 30 across six cities in India, behind closed doors.
The six venues are Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final of the tournament on May 30. Delhi Capitals will face off against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their first match on April 10, which will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals name Rishabh Pant as captain after Shreyas Iyer is ruled out for the season
Delhi Capitals were dealt a huge blow before the IPL 2021 began, as their captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the entire tournament due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the first ODI between India and England in Pune on March 23. He will undergo surgery to fix his dislocated left shoulder.
Under Iyer, who took over the captaincy from Gautam Gambhir in the middle of IPL 2018, Delhi Capitals have risen to new heights, making it to the playoffs in IPL 2019 and finally realizing their dream of qualifying for the finals in IPL 2020.
In Shreyas Iyer’s place, the DC management named Rishabh Pant as the captain of the franchise for IPL 2021.
The Capitals also had a successful outing in the IPL 2021 auction, buying the likes of Tom Curran (Rs. 5.25 crore), Steve Smith (Rs. 2.2 crores), Sam Billings (Rs. 2 crores), and Umesh Yadav (Rs. 1 Crore) as their main players, while also getting Ripal Patel (Rs. 20 Lakh), Vishnu Vinod (Rs. 20 Lakh), Lukman Meriwala (Rs. 20 Lakh) and M Siddharth (Rs. 20 Lakh) to complete their squad.
Keeping in mind the squad of the Delhi Capitals (DC), Team COC Presents to you the Best Playing XI for their first match of the IPL 2021.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) had found a very working and in fact highly rewarding playing XI in the IPL 2020 and they might not want to tinker with the same. They might go for Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw as their opening combination, followed by Ajinkya Rahane at no.3.
Shikhar is the first-ever batsman to hit back-to-back centuries in IPL, a feat he achieved in the previous IPL edition and Shaw is coming off an excellent outing for Mumbai in the domestic 50-over tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy in which he slammed 827 runs with 4 centuries, which included a double-ton.
Ajinkya Rahane played a handful of matches in IPL 2020 but is expected to replace Shreyas Iyer in the playing XI. They also have the option of bringing in Steve Smith, who was bought for his base price in the IPL 2021 auction, but that would require some tinkering in the settled XI they had in the previous edition.
IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals unveil their new jersey for upcoming IPL
Rishabh Pant might move one spot up in the XI to no.4 spot, and now has the added responsibility of leading the team as well, and keeping wickets. Delhi Capitals have the option of bringing in Sam Billings or Vishnu Vinod to keep wickets to lessen the burden on Pant, in later stages of the tournament.
Marcus Stoinis had changed the look of the playing XI with his bowling and big-hitting, hence he probably has a confirmed spot in the XI, while Shimron Hetmyer might be asked to perform the role of the finisher along with Stoinis. DC has Lalit Yadav and Chris Woakes as backups for these two players.
IPL 2021: “We have made a request to BCCI for COVID-19 vaccination,” says Delhi Capitals’ chief
The two spinners on whom DC might count on are Akshar Patel and R Ashwin, with Ashwin doing amazingly well for DC in IPL 2020, while Akshar Patel was coming off a successful international outing against England.
Delhi Capitals have one of the best fast bowling attacks led by Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who were one of the reasons for DC reaching the finals. They now have the added firepower of India’s Umesh Yadav to assist them as he returns to Capitals camp.
DC can also go for Ishant Sharma, but he has not played white-ball cricket for quite some time.
Delhi Capitals will hope for a repeat of the IPL 2020, and probably go one better and win the entire thing this time and becoming the IPL 2021 champions.
COC predicted best playing IPL 2021 XI for DC:
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (C&WK), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Akshar Patel, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
