IPL 2021: Strongest Playing 11 of Delhi Capitals for the upcoming season

DC Playing 11: Just a few days before the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season, the 2020 runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) suffered a major setback as their captain Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out for the entire tournament due to a dislocated shoulder. Rishabh Pant has been appointed as the DC captain in Iyer’s absence for the upcoming season of the IPL. The Delhi Capitals will start their IPL 2021 campaign against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 10 in Mumbai.

DC Playing 11

Apart from Iyer’s absence, the Delhi Capitals will also miss two of their premier fast bowlers in Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje for atleast the first game of this season due to their participation in the ongoing South Africa vs Pakistan ODI series. However, they have some really good back-up options to fill up the void. The dynamic duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw will open the batting. Their newest recruit Steve Smith is likely to bat No.3 with the newly named skipper Rishabh Pant coming in at four.

The duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis will handle the finishing duties like they did in the previous season. The trio of Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma will be their frontline fast bowlers with Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin as the premier spinners.

Delhi Capitals Playing XI (likely)

Prithvi Shaw
Shikhar Dhawan
Steve Smith
Rishabh Pant (c & wk)
Marcus Stoinis
Shimron Hetmyer
Axar Patel
Chris Woakes
Ravichandran Ashwin
Umesh Yadav
Ishant Sharma

Delhi Capitals also have some valuable back-up options like Ajinkya Rahane, Sam Billings, Amit Mishra and Tom Curran. Also, the duo of Nortje and Rabada will also be back after the ODI series against Pakistan at home.

Delhi Capitals Squad for IPL 2021

Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings.

Kitbags ▶️ Delivered ?✅

Our players look ?? in our 2021 training jersey ?#YehHaiNayiDilli @StayWrogn @TajMahalMumbai pic.twitter.com/9U1TfpBqZe

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 1, 2021

IPL 2021: ‘Rishabh Pant best man for the job’ says Shreyas Iyer on DC captaincy role

After sustaining a severe shoulder injury during the recently concluded ODI series against England, Iyer feels that Pant is the best suited person to take over as the Delhi Capitals captain. The Mumbai batsman also stated that he will surely miss being with the team this season and will be cheering for them throughout the upcoming tournament.

“When I sustained the shoulder injury and Delhi Capitals needed a leader for this edition of the IPL, I had no doubt Rishabh would be the best man for the job. He has all my good wishes to make amazing things happen with our absolutely incredible team. I’m going to miss the team tremendously and will be cheering for them throughout,” Iyer said in a release from DC.

Statement from Delhi Capitals ?

Shreyas has taken DC to newer heights ever since he took on the role of captain, leading the team to its very first final last year. The franchise will always be there for any assistance and support he may require at any step.#YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/0GoDKIQKqp

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 30, 2021