The Delhi Capitals are back in action after losing to Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final in Dubai. DC, which is virtually unchanged from last season, will be without regular captain Shreyas Iyer, who has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. In Iyer’s absence, Rishabh Pant has been named captain, and the 23-year-old captain’s first test will be against a team headed by MS Dhoni, the master under whose tutelage Pant learnt his trade in international cricket. DC has also signed Steve Smith, who would most likely bat in the top three if he makes the XI, according to head coach Ricky Ponting.
Rishabh Pant
Pant is in the best shape of his career, having improved steadily after the New Year’s Test against Australia in Sydney earlier this year. His match-winning knock in the fourth innings of the Brisbane Test, which helped India win the series, was followed by an incredible century in the fourth Test against England, before he finished the season with knocks of 78 and 77 in the final two One-Day Internationals.
Pant has 2079 runs at a strike rate of 151.97 from 68 IPL matches, and despite a lacklustre performance in IPL 2020, his current form suggests that he has moved on from last season’s disappointments.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin was also a standout performer for India in the 2020-21 international season. Ashwin shone with the ball and bat in the Tests against England after helping to save the Sydney Test.
Last season, he was one of DC’s top players, taking 13 wickets in 15 games for a total of 138 wickets from 154 games.
Ashwin will bat in the lower order and, thanks to his IPL background, may be one of the most important cogs in the DC XI.
Shimron Hetmyer
Hetmyer, like Pant, is a power hitter who can strike on the first pitch. Hetmyer scored 185 runs at a strike rate of 148 in 12 games last season, and with the IPL returning to India on batting-friendly pitches, he could be even more dangerous.
Hetmyer has 1585 runs at a strike rate of 130.45 from 80 T20s, with one century and eight half-centuries.