Delhi Capitals have chopped and changed all season – 20 players already, the second-most in this IPL – but the coaching group reckon they may finally be able to put something close to their first-choice XI on the park against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday night.
Mitchell Starc is in. Lungi Ngidi is over his concussion. Only all-rounder Sahil Parakh remains on the treatment table. The equation is simple enough: seventh place, four wins from nine, and, as bowling coach Munaf Patel admitted, a run-in that probably demands a perfect record.
“Obviously, we play every match to win, but now the relaxed mode is over. If you want to qualify, you have to win all the matches,” Munaf said after training in Delhi.
Key reinforcements
Starc arrived late – work commitments in Australia pushed his start date to 1 May – yet he landed running with 3 for 28 against Rajasthan Royals. Munaf has already dubbed him “the captain of the fast bowlers”, a handy label when your attack has been held together by youngsters and part-timers for most of April.
Ngidi, seven wickets at 8.70 an over, had looked the senior quick until he banged his head while fielding against Punjab Kings on 25 April. Six-day concussion protocol meant two games out.
“Lungi and all bowlers are 100% fit,” Munaf confirmed. “A wicket in the first six overs makes a big difference. That is why bowling in partnerships becomes very important.”
Selection puzzle
One of Delhi’s early ideas was to back Indian seamers such as Auqib Nabi and Mukesh Kumar and stack the batting with overseas muscle. The numbers never quite added up, so plan B is now in play.
“It is always difficult to fit the best combination into the XI because there are only four overseas slots,” Munaf said. “Sahil was injured, so we wanted to give Pathum [Nissanka] an opportunity and also have an additional bowling option. That is why we went with that combination.
“At that time, Lungi was not available, so the plan was to go with either Pathum or [David] Miller depending on the balance we needed. Pathum came in as a replacement, and we will continue with that approach because he performed well. I don’t think there is a need for further changes.”
Pitch watch
Home advantage at the Arun Jaitley Stadium often means slow, low surfaces that encourage spin. With Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel on the roster, Delhi would welcome that – within reason.
“We have world-class spinners in the form of Kuldeep and Axar. There is no question of them not playing. If the wickets are slow, it actually benefits us because we have quality spinners,” Munaf said, then offered a small caveat. “But I don’t think the wickets will be as slow as people expect. With the time available between matches, pitches don’t slow down that much unless there is weather interference. They might slow down slightly, but not significantly.”
Numbers game
Mumbai Indians have already used 24 players, so Delhi are not alone in shuffling the pack; still, such instability rarely screams title run. What DC hope, perhaps belatedly, is that a frontline pace pair of Starc-Ngidi, reliable spin, and a batting order no longer stretched by dual roles can settle things.
It might be too late. Then again, win five on the bounce – CSK first, the rest later – and the table tends to take care of itself. For now, the Capitals have the personnel they wanted in March. May is the time to show why.
