Having failed to make their mark in the last couple of Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons, a revamped Delhi Daredevils led by Gautam Gambhir will aim to get their hands on the elusive trophy.
One of the major advantages for perennial underachievers, Delhi is that unlike other franchises, they are laced with some good quality all-rounders along with an aggressive captain this time around.
Coming to his home team, Gambhir will likely to add a new enthusiasm to the side as he has helped his previous outfit Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to clinch two seasons (2012, 2014) of the cash-rich league.
In the last five seasons, Delhi finished at the bottom of the points table. In 2013, they finished ninth, in 2014 (eighth), in 2015 (seventh), in 2016 (sixth), in 2017 (sixth).
From the last season, Delhi retained wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, opener Shreyas Iyer, and all-rounder Chris Morris for the upcoming edition.
At the auctions, they managed to grab Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who they bought for Rs 9 crore followed by South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada (Rs 4.2 crore) which will only add more fire to the squad.
So unlike the other seasons, this time the batting and the bowling departments seem sorted out.
At the top of the order, Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw will have the responsibility to score big runs. The middle-order also have many options this time. Glen Maxwell, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jayany Yadav, Manjot Kalra and others.
The bowling department will be led by pacer Kagiso Rabada alongside Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult and Chris Morris. Experienced leg-spinner Amit Mishra will also play a crucial role.
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.
(IANS)
