IPL 2026: Weight of history weighs heavily on Delhi Capitals

Bengaluru: One of the most underachieving sides in the history of IPL are Delhi Capitals. No matter what they do, be it piecing together a strong squad, roping in maverick cricketers with the belief that they would be the X-factor, hiring acclaimed names in the industry as coaches, or even changing their team name from Delhi Daredevils, they have somehow flattered to deceive.

. In 18 seasons so far, they’ve managed to reach the playoffs on just six occasions and contested the final just once, where they lost to the mighty Mumbai Indians in the 2020 final. They’ve failed to progress beyond the league stage the last four seasons and, along with Punjab Kings, they are one of the two OGs to have not laid their hands on the coveted trophy.

. It’s this massive weight of history that would be weighing heavily on the shoulders of Axar Patel and Co as they kick off a new season, hoping to right the wrongs of the past and finally crack the code. In that pursuit, the DC management have assembled a good enough squad, and now it’s all about how the players go about tackling the challenges on the field.

. At the top, they’ve got the ever-reliable KL Rahul, who will be partnered either by the equally elegant Pathum Nissanka or the talented Abishek Porel or the unpredictable Prithvi Shaw. In an era where the talk is all about how powerfully and consistently one can smash the ball without any fear, an old-school Rahul has gone about his job efficiently, minus the bravado. In seven of the last eight seasons, the seasoned batter has scored over 500 runs, and previous year his strike rate was 149.72.

. Three out of the four players should start with the dangerous David Miller and Nitish Rana set to bolster the middle order. Then they have Tristan Stubbs, who showed what a potent striker of the ball he is in the just-concluded T20 World Cup, to do the finishing job along with Axar and the talented Ashutosh Sharma.

. Even on the bowling front, they’ve got the main basis covered, although it’s still unclear when the gun pacer Mitchell Starc will be cleared to play by Cricket Australia. But then they have Lungi Ngidi, who is in the form of his life, the tall Kyle Jamieson and Dushmantha Chameera as other options.

. Domestically too, they have veteran pacer Mukesh Kumar, the red-hot Auqib Nabi, who will be itching to prove he can be lethal in the shortest format too, and T Natarajan. In terms of spin also, they have Kuldeep Yadav and Axar.

. Delhi have a very well-balanced unit on paper with proven performers, international and India. It’s all about how they can click as a unit, which has been their Achilles Heel.

. Squad: Axar Patel (captain), KL Rahul, Karun Nair, David Miller, Pathum Nissanka, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav.

. Best finish: Runners-up (2020) and 1st in league table (2009, 2012, 2021).

. Highlights - "If you want to win this competition, if you want to go to the playoffs, you want to ideally finish those games and if you don't finish those games, then you have no one else to blame but yourself." - Hemang Badani, Head coach

IPL 2026: Weight of history weighs heavily on Delhi Capitals

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