IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals Predicted Playing XI Against Mumbai Indians

Delhi Capitals (DC), led by Rishabh Pant, will get their campaign underway in the second game of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team retained four players – Rishabh Pant, Anrich Nortje, Prithvi Shaw and Axar Patel ahead of the mega auction and made some interesting buys at the event later. Their playing XI looks the strongest when all the players are available.

However, for the opening encounter against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians, the Capitals are seriously short of players. Nortje has joined the team but is still recovering from injury while David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman are also not available due to international commitments. With the availability of overseas players affected, DC have only a couple of foreign players from pick from for their opening game.

Here’s DC’s predicted playing XI for the game vs Mumbai Indians:

Openers (Prithvi Shaw, Tim Seifert)

Prithvi Shaw will continue to open the innings for DC like he did in the previous season. However, this time around he will have new partners at the top of the order. Tim Seifert will open with him in the first couple of matches before David Warner replaces the Kiwi player.

Shaw will have to be consistent now given that he has decent experience of playing top level cricket. In Warner’s absence, it becomes imperative for him to click and score runs at a fair clip in the powerplay overs. Seifert, on the other hand, hasn’t quite set the stage on fire in IPL yet but is an exciting player. He can surprise opposition bowlers with his attacking instinct.

Middle-Order (KS Bharat, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan)

Until Mitchell Marsh becomes available, DC will have to depend on their Indian talent to deliver in the middle order. KS Bharat played a crucial role for RCB last season batting at three on most occasions while Rishabh Pant should bat at four. A lot will depend on the left-hander leading from the front. If his aggressive instincts take over, he can give tough time to the MI bowlers.

Rovman Powell is coming into this IPL season with huge reputation of hitting the ball a long way. He is in great form as well and batting at five will give him enough time to adjust to the conditions before going berserk. Sarfaraz Khan was terrific in Ranji Trophy recently and his form in finishing the innings on a high will be key too.

All-Rounders (Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur)

Axar Patel was retained by DC and the all-rounder is a four-over bank in terms of tight left-arm spin bowling. He can certainly bat and tonk sixes, but his primary role will be to pick wickets in the middle overs. Shardul Thakur attracted a lot of bids in the mega auction and he will have to make sure that the price tag doesn’t put undue pressure on him. Shardul is a partnership breaker and is no mug with the bat when it comes to hitting big.

Bowlers (Chetan Sakariya, Kuldeep Yadav, Kamlesh Nagarkoti)

It is an all-Indian pace bowling line-up for Delhi Capitals and expect Kamlesh Nagarkoti to take the new ball. He can swing the new ball and at his pace, can trouble the batters. He is also a decent batter lower down the order. Chetan Sakariya got a taste of international cricket last year on Sri Lanka tour and he will only get better as he plays more top level cricket. His bowling in the death overs will be key for DC.

Kuldeep Yadav didn’t get a single game in the 2021 season. A lot has been said about his confidence being down and the way he has been handled by the KKR franchise and even the Indian team management. This is his chance to prove his mettle yet again and the pressure will be on him to perform.