IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals updated squad for UAE leg

Delhi Capitals have been on the rise since JSW acquired half of the stakes in the franchise ahead of the IPL 2019. A change in the name and jersey has seen Capitals emerge as one of the better teams in the Indian Premier League. In 2019, Delhi made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and then made it to their first-ever final in 2020. 

With all that being said, the Capitals look like a pretty formidable and strong unit in the 2021 season. Despite missing their captain in the first leg, Delhi managed to not look any weaker in terms of a side as a whole. Local boy Rishabh Pant led the team quite well in the first leg and will continue to do so in the UAE leg, despite Shreyas Iyer’s return in the side. 

Shreyas Iyer returns but Rishabh Pant to continue as captain

Iyer’s return is a huge boost for the franchise as he is a dependable middle-order batter with experience of playing long innings for his side. Apart from Iyer’s return, the Capitals will miss some experience with English all-rounder Chris Woakes deciding to not join the squad for the second leg. Australian left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis has been named his replacement. 

Talking about their journey in this tournament so far, Delhi finds itself in a comfortable position at the start of the second leg. In the first leg, they were ranked number one in the points table after winning six out of their eight matches. Their only losses came against Royal Challengers Bangalore by a run and Rajasthan Royals by just three wickets. Both these games were quite close and they could have found themselves on the other side. 

Delhi Capitals will open their UAE leg with a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22. Interestingly, when these two teams faced for the first time in Chennai during the first leg, the match was tied and the Capitals won it in the super over eventually. 

Here is the updated squad of Delhi Capitals for the second leg of IPL 2021: 

Rishabh Pant (C and WK), Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Anrich Nortje, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Lukman Hussain Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Pravin Dubey, Vishnu Vinod