The Indian Premier League is upon us in less than a week’s time. The IPL, which is considered to be the most popular T20 league in the world will be completing its 10th year of existence this year and naturally, the stakes have never been higher for the participating teams. The mega event, which started after India’s surprise victory in the first edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 hit the sweet spot on its first ever match, when, Brendon McCullum took apart every bowler in the vicinity to score a humongous 158, setting up the tone for the future to come. The 2007 Delhi Daredevils team was led by Virender Sehwag and had the likes of AB De Villiers, Tilakratene Dilshan, and Gautam Gambhir taking the team to the Semi Finals. The team again kept up with the same tradition in the following year in South Africa, before they bowed out to Adam Gilchrist’s brilliance against the Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. The team, since then has been, on the wrong side of fate and despite having a notable team and has been consistently inconsistent in the last 8 seasons. This year, led by Zaheer Khan, Delhi would be looking to change its poor run. The Delhi management, which had gone through with a complete revamp of the team 2 years ago, would be expected a better and more settled side, that could be taking the event by the storm.

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Full Squad:

Existing players: JP Duminy, Mohammed Shami, Quinton de Kock, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Zaheer Khan, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, CV Milind, Syed Ahmed, Pratyush Singh.

Note: J P Duminy has pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons

Players Bought: Angelo Mathews (2 Cr), Corey Anderson (1 Cr), Kagiso Rabada (5 Cr), Pat Cummins (4.50 Cr), Ankit Bawne (INR 10 Lakhs), Aditya Tare (25 Lakhs), Murugan Ashwin (1 Cr), Navdeep Saini (10 lakh), Shashank Singh (10 Lakh)

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Key Players:

Angelo Mathews:

The Srilankan Captain is the newest buy of the DD and could be considered a bargain at Rs 2 crores. Mathews has been a consistent performer in an otherwise poor SriLankan side and has the capability to turn the game on its head. Mathews could play as the lower order batsman who can bowl medium pace but if his records are to be considered, eh would be a very effective T20 bowler with an economy rate in T20Is of 6.74. While his batting average of 30 and a strike rate of 119 do not justify his skills and experience, it must be noted that he could also be leading the side if Zaheer Khan succumbs to injury again.

Mohammed Shami:

The pacer, who is alls et to return into the scheme of things after a prolonged period of injuries would be looking to make a mark in the tournament and come back into the Indian team. Shami is a T20 veteran and is considered to be one of the best Indian bowlers in the death overs. Although his ability to reverse swing the ball would not come in handy in a 20 over game and his economy rate of over 9 does not speak too well of him, Shami has, both the pace and accuracy to steal games away from the opposition and in a tournament that is so tightly contested, he could hold the key for Delhi Daredevils.

Kagiso Rabada:

At 21 years of age and 3 years of International experience, Rabada is at the best stage of his career in terms of peak fitness and performances. His willingness and commitment on the field are second to none and so are his death bowling capabilities. If you don’t remember him, you need to google South Africa’s last tour of India. Rabada bowls in higher 140s and can bowl the yorker at will. His slower bowl is almost undetectable and knowledge of line and length gives him an edge over most batsman.

Quinton De Kock:

Quinton De Kock at the top of the order would be a vital element in the DD’s scheme of things. His ability to get a quick start and convert it into a innings of substance would be something that the DD heavily rely on, considering the lack of depth in their batting department.

List of Matches:

RCB vs Delhi Daredevils, April 8, 2017, 20:00 IST

Rising Pune Supergiant vs Delhi Daredevils, April 11, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, April 15, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs KKR, April 17, 2017, 16:00 IST

SRH vs Delhi Daredevils, April 19, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, April 22, 2017, 16:00 IST

KKR vs Delhi Daredevils, April 28, 2017, 16:00 IST

Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, April 30, 2017, 16:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs SRH, May 2, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs Gujarat Lions, May 4, 2017, 20:00 IST

Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, May 6, 2017, 20:00 IST

Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Daredevils, May 10, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs Rising Pune Super Giant, May 12, 2017, 20:00 IST

Delhi Daredevils vs RCB, May 15, 2017, 20:00 IST

1st Qualifier: May 16, 2017, 20:00 IST

Eliminator: May 17 2017, 20:00 IST

2nd Qualifier: May 19, 2017, 20:00 IST

Final: May 21 2017, 20:00 IST