IPL 2025: 3 Areas of concern for DC ahead of the season

The Delhi Capitals management would be satisfied with their outing in the mega auction in Jeddah. This time around, they have managed to build a squad with a mix of experience and youth. Additionally, they have picked up a wicketkeeper and an experienced opener in the form of KL Rahul. With Jake Fraser-McGurk at the top, DC is set with the openers for the upcoming season. 

With Faf du Plessis in the side, they have a decent backup for the top order. Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, and Ashutosh Sharma make up a solid middle order for the Capitals. Apart from that, they have Sameer Rizvi, who can smash the ball out of the park during the death overs. 

Talking about the bowlers, the spin department will be spearheaded by Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Their pace attack includes versatile options in the form of Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, and Mukesh Kumar. 

A look at three areas of concern for DC ahead of the season

1. Lack of a gun spinner as Kuldeep Yadav’s backup

The Capitals have managed to set up a strong side for the upcoming IPL season. Their spin bowling department includes two spinners from the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup last year. However, they do not have a strong backup in case one of them is injured or misses crucial matches in the season. 

If either of the bowlers has a bad day, the spin bowling department, which is expected to bowl eight overs every game, might leak runs. With the IPL being a competitive league, this could prove costly for the Capitals. 

2. Historical fitness concerns for the pace bowling attack

This time, the Capitals have a versatile pace bowling attack. However, there have been concerns regarding side strain issues for Mitchell Starc, which was evident during the ongoing Test series against India. Alongside Strac, is T Natarajan, who is a valuable bowler but has been prone to injury. 

The main concern for the management will be to fill the void if one of the premier fast bowlers gets injured in the middle of the tournament. They have Dushmantha Chameera in the side, but given the conditions, he may not be the best player to replace Starc or Natarajan.

3. KL Rahul’s strike rate

Over the years, there have been concerns regarding KL Rahul’s strike rate at the top order. Even though he can play as an anchor, his strike rate of 134.61 can bring pressure on the other batters for the Capitals. With Abishek Porel, Harry Brook, and Tristan Stubbs expected to be a part of the playing XI, Rahul’s conservative approach might force them to play rash shots. 

With teams setting up the pitches as per their lineup (e.g., CSK opting for a slow pitch), this could be disastrous because teams could plan to attack other batters. This was evident during a game between the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, where GT managed to post a modest total of 135 runs. However, Rahul’s conservative approach (68 runs from 61 balls) resulted in LSG falling short by 7 runs. 

The management will be hoping that KL Rahul finds his T20 form and plays with a better strike rate. 

Delhi Capitals (DC) Final Squad for IPL 2025:

Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Mitchell Starc, KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Jake Fraser-McGurk, T Natarajan, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmantha Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

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