Overview 

THE DELHI DAREDEVILS have never tasted success in the IPL till now and although they have tried various things to improve their record over the years, injuries and some poor decisions by the management have led to their downfall. Just when it appeared that they might make the playoffs after a strong start in the previous edition, they couldn't get over the line and ended up finishing sixth on the table despite winning seven games out of 14. Worse, even before the IPL-10 has got underway, they have been dealt a big blow following JP Duminy's withdrawal from the campaign. However, the DD think-tank has done a commendable job in the recently concluded auction by roping in world class pacers in Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rababda and the duo is likely to have an impact sooner than later. 

Strength

They have wicket-keepers galore (Quinton De Kock, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Aditya Tare & Rishabh Pant) in their camp. All these players can bat and keep well. Therefore, rotating players won't be an issue. Also, the balance of the side won't be affected and above all, there will be no need for a makeshift keeper, which has backfired on some teams in the IPL. 

The inclusion of overseas fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins will bolster the seam attack. Both these seamers are genuine wicket-takers and can also be handy with the bat lower down the order. Last year, Delhi struggled with getting crucial breakthroughs.These two are likely to step up to the occasion. 

As we have seen in the IPL over the years, a strong contingent of Indian spinners is imperative for success. The wickets will get slower and lower as the tournament progresses and the spinners will have a big role to play. With Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav and Murugan Ashwin, DD have quality tweakers in their arsenal. While Mishra and Yadav are likely to get into the playing 11 during the initial stages of the tournament, having the backup of young leggie Ashwin and left-arm spinner Nadeem will surely give Delhi's spin department the extra cushion and variety. 

Weakness

Delhi's frontline seamers in Zaheer Khan and Mohammad Shami have perennial injury concerns and given their fitness woes, it is difficult to see them play majority of the games in IPL-10. Worse, to cover up for these injury-prone pacers, DD don't have quality as far as Indian seamers are concerned. If Zaheer & Shami pull out, they will have a big void in this category and will be forced to fill the gaps with the Indian spinners and overseas pacers.

Drafting in injury prone all-rounders in Corey Anderson and Angelo Mathews is highly debatable. Given their poor history with fitness, one wonders how Delhi will benefit from the Kiwi and Lankan respectively. Moreover, these two cricketers rarely bowl these days and that will further reduce their value. Will be interesting to see how these two shape up in time for the IPL. 

Captaincy Dilemma:

Delhi have been struggling in this area for a few a few years and not having a stable captain has often cost them. With JP Duminy, Angelo Mathews and Zaheer Khan, DD have kept rotating their captains, only to be left disappointed and lost. Now, after Duminy's withdrawal, they are likely to face more confusion. That said, they would do well to not repeat their past mistakes in the 10th edition. With not too many genuine leaders in the camp, it will be interesting to see who they go with. 

Coach's corner:

Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton have enjoyed great success with the Rajasthan Royals, but their strategy to keep rotating the players didn't work with Delhi in the last edition. Despite overseas players performing well, a few were inexplicably asked to warm the bench. The coaching staff should be careful of not tinkering too much with the squad, especially when the desired results are on their way. 

TFG Verdict:

Delhi have covered all the possible areas and look quite a formidable unit, with great variety and depth in batting, bowling, keeping and all-round department. Unless, injury forces couple of their key players out, or the management continues to make poor decisions, we see them making the cut to the playoffs in 2017.  

Our 11 for the first game: De Kock, Pant, Nair, Billings, Samson, Morris, Cummins, Jayant, Shami, Zaheer/Nadeem, Mishra

TEAM: Zaheer Khan, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, CV Milind, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Pratyush Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Aditya Tare, Ankit Bawane, Navdeep Saini, Shashank Singh, Quinton de Kock, Sam Billings, Christopher Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Kagiso Rabada, Patrick Cummins, Angelo Mathews, Corey Anderson.

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