IPL 2018 Team Preview: Delhi Daredevils- Strengths, Weakness, Key Stats, Squad and Probable XI

Delhi Daredevils has remained a vital cog in the Indian Premier League since its inception in 2008.

Legendary cricketers like AB de Villiers, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra have adorned the squad of Delhi Daredevils over the years. But still, DD’s is deprived of that final-win moment in the IPL.

Having already felt not-so-great experiences in the past seasons, this year they would look forward to breaking the jinx, bury their burdened past and uncage their menacing squad to take on their opponents under Gautam Gambhir.

This year the team looks rock solid on paper as they have injected fire into their batting and variety in their bowling.

Owner: GMR Group, JSW Group

Captain: Gautam Gambhir

Coach: Ricky Ponting

With IPL to start the ball rolling within a week, let’s have a look at the strengths, weaknesses, squad and the probable XI of the Delhi Daredevils:

Strengths:

Gautam Gambhir- who gave KKR a Midas touch might turn the fortunes of Delhi Daredevils this season. Delhi has found a strong leader in Gambhir, who would not only provide depth to their batting line-up but also lend stability to the team. Statistically speaking, Gambhir is only behind MS Dhoni in terms of win percentage in the IPL.

The welcome addition of Ricky Ponting as their head coach would also induct strength in the team. So, with two blitzkriegs by their side, Delhi Daredevils might just conquer it all!

They have piled up a star-studded batting lineup with Gautam Gambhir, Chris Morris, Colin Munro and Glen Maxwell. They made a prudent choice by opting to retain South-Africa seamer Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami. They have also bought New Zealand seamer, Trent Boult to add an edge to their bowling. Moreover, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem along T20 star performer Amit Mishra to add variety to their bowling squad.

What’s more? Well, they have U-19 star performer Prithvi Shaw who might play some impressive knocks and Nepal’s rising sensation Sandeep Lamichhane who might also trouble the batsmen with his spells, if they are included in the playing XI.

They also possess one of the best bench strengths this season, this would be an advantage for them as well.

Weakness:

Delhi has picked way too many top-order batsmen which makes their middle order appear a bit weak. They have Rishabh Pant, Gautam Gambhir, Colin Munro, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer who may open for the team.

It might be challenging for middle order batsmen like Glenn Maxwell who would find it difficult to settle, which in turn might affect the whole batting unit. Thus, the untested combination of openers might trouble the team.

Also, Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer are slow run-getters, this might affect the scorecard of the team in the T20 tournament.

Delhi has put faith in young wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, but his dwindling form might worry the team management as well.

Squad:

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammad Shami, Gautam Gambhir, Trent Boult, Colin Munro, Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Naman Ojha, Prithvi Shaw, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Avesh Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Harshal Patel, Manjot Kalra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sayan Ghosh

Probable XI:

Gautam, Colin Munro/ Jason Roy, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada/Trent Boult, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami,  Shahbaz Nadeem

Certainly, Delhi Daredevils have put in right strategies to build their team to get rid of the ‘underachievers’ tag. The return of veteran player Gautam Gambhir as their skipper can rekindle the hopes of clinching maiden IPL title for Delhi.

Betting Odds:

As per the stats from oddschecker, the following are the odds of DD:

Best Batsman: Gautam Gambhir- 7/4

Best Bowler: Trent Boult- 3

Chances of winning: 8