Delhi Daredevils, over the years, have gone into many seasons as one of the top teams, but rarely have they delivered. As a new season kicks off, their primary aim should be to put up consistent performances, and looking to deliver results. In their endeavour, Delhi have rejigged their side, bringing in the experienced pacer Zaheer Khan, who has now retired from international cricket, as skipper. One is not sure how much Zaheer will have to offer with the ball considering the amount of beating his body has taken in the last two decades, but he can definitely prove to be a good mentor as he was to Team India's younger generation. Whether that spurs the players on to better performances remains to be seen.
Star batsmen: South African opener Quinton de Kock has been one of the stars for South Africa in the T20 as well as the 50-over format even since his debut. He loves India, and was in excellent form the last time the South Africans visited India. De Kock will be keen to carry on in the same vein. Apart from him, most of the other key batsmen are Indian talents, and highly gifted players at that. This list includes, Shreyas Iyer, who has tasted success in the IPL. There is also Sanju Samson, another highly talented player. Mayank Agarwal has got runs at the top in A matches he played last season, so he could a good option to open.
Star bowlers: In the bowling department, Mohammad Shami, if fit, will be the key. Of course, there is Zaheer himself, but as mentioned earlier, it is difficult to see him playing a wicket-taking role. It would be interesting to see how left-arm spinner Pawan Negi performs. After all, he was the most expensive Indian buy at the auction. South African leggie Imran Tahir is also expected to make an impact. Then, there is also Amit Mishra, who has been unlucky not to have found a place in the Indian T20 team of late. Zaheer has decent options to pick from in the bowling, like Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shahbaz Nadeem and Sam Billings.
All-round prowess: Delhi have a couple of good all-rounders in their kitty. South African all-rounder Chris Morris is the biggest name among them. He is an extremely hard-hitting batsman, who has started winning games for his team. Delhi will expect the same from him. With the ball too, he can be useful provided he gets his act right. JP Duminy is more of a batting all-rounder, but he can do a good job with the ball as well. Out of nowhere they, now a lot of eyes will be on Carlos Braithwaite. The all-rounder's four sixes in the WT20 final have become part of folklore. The expectations on him will thus be very high, unlike in the auctions, where he wasn't among the wanted names doing the rounds.
Past Performances: Considering the kind of players who have turned out for Delhi over the years, their performance has been among the most disappointing. They began on a confident note, making the semi-finals in 2008-09. In the next two years, they were ousted in the league stage itself. In 2012, they made the play-offs, but in the last three years, they have again been eliminated early.
-- By A Cricket Analyst
