IPL 2021: Ravi Ashwin backs Delhi Capitals to win the tournament, lauds Rishabh Pant for his blistering form

Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) boast of having one of the strongest squads among all the eight franchises. The team will start as favorites in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), starting on April 9 with a game between MI and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai.

India’s ace spinner Ravi Ashwin, who will be plying his trade for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the T20 extravaganza, named the defending champions as the team to beat. Though Ashwin is of the view that every IPL team is strong and will present a strong competition, he believes that MI have a more powerful and experienced squad as compared to others.

“Every team is strong, and I am not making a diplomatic statement. But I definitely think Mumbai has got a powerful and experienced squad. Mumbai will always start as favorites in this competition. I think Mumbai is the team to beat,” Ashwin told the New Indian Express.

The 13th edition of the T20 League hosted in the United Arab Emirates saw the Capitals reaching the final for the first time in the history of the league. However, they failed to lift their maiden IPL trophy after losing against Mumbai. One of the major reasons behind DC losing the finals was the underperformance of their batting line-up.

Last year, our batting did not come well together: Ravi Ashwin

When asked about DC’s chances of winning IPL 2020, the veteran off-spinner reckoned that the team has a fair chance as the batsmen, especially Rishabh Pant, are in a good form this year. This time, Pant will be leading the side as the regular skipper Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the league after dislocating his shoulder.

“Good (On DC’s chances), well-balanced one. Last year, our batting did not come well together. It was understandable due to lockdown and all that. But this year, in the kind of form in which Rishabh is, definitely that (team’s batting) also will get sorted out.

“We have a good chance. But if you see the last few years, it is not always about the top two or three sides. Every team picks players judiciously and has good balance and options. The IPL is in a new caravan model, so conditions also will play a part,” Ashwin concluded.