IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals- DC SWOT Analysis - Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat

Formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, the franchise has changed its name to Delhi Capitals from this season onwards.

It would be for everyone to see whether a change in name brings about a change in fortunes. The team started off their IPL journey on a good note and was successful in making it to the playoffs in the first two seasons.

However, as the league moved on, their performances kept getting worse so much so that in this decade, they have been able to qualify for the playoffs just once. The side doesn't boast of a glorious past.

Their designated captain for the last season, Gautham Gambhir, has called it a day from all forms of cricket. As it is, he had stepped down from the job after failing to make an impact in the first few matches. The Capitals have nominated Shreyas Iyer as their captain.

Strength

Delhi Capitals have traded in Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad against three players- Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem. Originally belonging to Delhi, the left-hander will open the batting along with Prithvi Shaw, who is a special talent and is destined for glory.

Rishab Pant, who is expected to bat at No 4 for the team, is one of the most exciting names doing the rounds in Indian cricket. Pant has now become a Test match regular and has also staked his claim for a spot in the limited-overs format. Pant set the IPL on fire in the last season and if he gets going this year as well, nothing like it for Delhi.

Weakness

Delhi Capitals have some renown names among their bowlers such as Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma. While one of Rabada or Boult is expected to feature in the team's playing XI, Capitals do not have a lot of bowlers who can dry up the opposition's scoring.

This was one of team's major problems in the last season as they failed to contain the run flow. This time as well, their bowling does not inspire a lot of confidence with their ability to restrict the opposition and this is something that their batting would have to account for by scoring 20-30 extra runs to provide a cushion to the bowlers.

Opportunity

Shreyas Iyer was handed over the captaincy of the team last year when the team only had a thin chance of making it to the playoffs. However, he impressed in his short stint. Now that he has the entire season at his disposal, he would be expected to blossom as a captain and in the process pummel his team to greater heights.

Iyer was one of the contenders for the Indian ODI squad but petered out with new and more exciting names coming in. Although his selection chances for the World Cup look as good as zilch, by showing his class, he will certainly come back in the reckoning for the Indian ODI squad after the ODI World Cup.

Sandeep Lamichhane looked good in the few matches that he got to play last season. Since then, Lamichhane has grown immensely and has been a gun performer across domestic T20 leagues all over the globe. He presents Delhi with a leg spinning option which is a hit in contemporary cricket. With his accuracy and variations, the Nepalese spinner can make a name for himself.

Threat

There is a very fine line between overhauling the entire team setup and being instable and inconsistent with your choices. While Delhi Capitals have started out with the premise of infusing a new energy in the group by changing the team's name and dropping old players for new ones, the results of the experiment can go either way.

For this overhaul can also turn out as a factor imparting instability to the team. As it is, the franchise has been infamous for trying too many players at various positions over the years. Each of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, James Hopes, Mahela Jayawardene, Ross Taylor, David Warner, Kevin Pietersen, Zaheer Khan and Karun Nair have led the side at some point or the other but not with much success.

It would be Shreyas Iyer's turn this time which looks like an opportunity. But with the baggage of expectations and pessimism that the team has been carrying, it would be one heck of a task.

Delhi Capitals' purse after the auction: INR. 7.7 Crore

Retained players: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Manjot Kalra, Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult

Traded in: Shikhar Dhawan from SRH

Traded out: Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem to SRH

Purchased players in IPL Auction (Dec 18): Hanuma Vihari (Rs 2 crore), Axar Patel (Rs 5 crore), Ishant Sharma (Rs 1.10 crore), Ankush Bains (Rs 20 lakh), Nathu Singh (Rs 20 lakh), Colin Ingram (Rs 6.40 crore), Sherfane Rutherford (Rs 2 crore), Keemo Paul (Rs 50 lakh), Jalaj Saxena (Rs 20 lakh), Bandaru Ayyappa (Rs 20 lakh)

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