Delhi Capitals is one of the only three teams who have never won an IPL trophy despite playing all 15 seasons. The other two teams are the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Punjab Kings. The Delhi-based franchise was previously named Delhi Daredevils.
Then, they changed their name to Delhi Capitals in 2018. Unfortunately, the change of name didn’t bring a change of fortunes for them. They are still trophyless, but they played their maiden final in the league in 2020. Here, we will identify the top 5 reasons behind their inability to win an IPL trophy.
So, let’s start.
<h3>1. Never Got A Great Captain</h3>
<img class=”size-full wp-image-19571″ src=”https://www.sportiqo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sportiqo-Blog-Image-686386-6.png” alt=”Delhi Capitals captain” width=”686″ height=”386″ /> Image Source: <a href=”zeenews.india.com”>zeenews</a>
You may be surprised to know that as many as 13 players have tried to lead the Delhi Capitals. Virender Sehwag was assigned the captaincy duties in the inaugural IPL season. He led the franchise to 28 victories in 52 matches. Delhi lost 24 games under him, and he had a win percentage of 53.84%.
Sehwag’s opening partner Gautam Gambhir also led the franchise during IPL 2009. The team finished the league stages on top of the table but couldn’t make it to the finals. He was recalled as a skipper by the franchise in 2018, but he transferred his responsibilities to Shreyas Iyer during the season. The Capitals won 10 and lost 11 games in his reign.
Mahela Jayawardene was the stand-in skipper of Delhi in a couple of games in IPL 2012. When Sehwag quit as a captain in 2013, the baton was passed to the Sri Lankan legend. The move didn’t help the side as they finished the season at the bottom of the table with only 4 wins in 16 matches. David Warner was also tried as a skipper in that season, but DC lost both matches in his captaincy..
<h3>Captaincy Experimentation</h3>
The Delhi-based franchise continued the captaincy experimentation, and Kevin Petersen was assigned this duty. The prolific batter had a horrific captaincy stint as he lost 10 out of 11 games as a skipper. Dinesh Karthik also captained Delhi in that season. He has 6 matches as their skipper, 4 of which resulted in defeats. The next man to lead the Capitals was JP Duminy of South Africa. His 16 matches as a captain brought 6 wins and 9 losses.
DC looked to the experienced Zaheer Khan to solve their captaincy issues. He captained the team to 10 victories and 13 defeats in 23 contests. Karun Nair stood as the Capitals’ skipper in 3 matches in 2017. He won 2 and lost 1 game in his short stint. James Hopes and Ross Taylor were also the stand-in captains of Delhi in earlier seasons. The former was a skipper in 3 matches, while the latter captained 2 games.
Shreyas Iyer came as a saviour for Delhi Capitals in all this struggle. He was handed the captaincy baton in the year 2018, and he led in 3 seasons. In 41 matches, he brought 21 victories and 18 losses for them. More importantly, he inspired them to play in the final of IPL 2020. It was their only final in 13 editions of the Indian Premier League. <a href=”https://www.sportiqo.com/rishabh-pant-stable-after-the-accident/”>Rishabh Pant</a> took over this duty from him in 2021. In the last couple of seasons, DC have secured 16 wins and 13 losses under him.
With all these changes in the captaincy, Delhi have never been settled in a specific environment Gautam Gambhir had tons of potential as a skipper but he wasn’t trusted enough with this responsibility. Shreyas Iyer did well, but he was replaced too. If DC want to lift an IPL trophy, they should stick with Rishabh Pant as their long-term captain.
<h3>2. Absence of Quality All-Rounders</h3>
<img class=”size-full wp-image-19572″ src=”https://www.sportiqo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sportiqo-Blog-Image-686386-1-2.png” alt=”Delhi Capitals all-rounders” width=”686″ height=”386″ /> Image Source: <a href=”sportskeeda.com”>Sports Keeda</a>
Delhi Capitals secured the services of some fine all-rounders like Daniel Vettori, Moises Henriqiues, Irfan Pathan, Andre Russell, Roelod van der Merwe, Angelo Matthews, Albie Morkel. The last one amongst these names had great numbers in the IPL, but he played only one season for the Capitals in 2015. Andre Russell was a part of their squad only for two editions.
Whereas the others weren’t able to leave a mark in the cash-rich league. The Capitals failed to rope in someone like Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, or Krunal Pandya. Axar Patel joined them in 2019, and his inclusion has certainly helped them.
<h3>3. Lack of Wicket-Taking Spinners</h3>
<img class=”size-full wp-image-19573″ src=”https://www.sportiqo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sportiqo-Blog-Image-686386-2-2.png” alt=”Delhi Capitals spinners” width=”686″ height=”386″ /> Image Source: <a href=”indiatvnews.com”>India TVNews</a>
For many years, DC didn’t have a quality local spinner apart from Amit Mishra. Even Mishra didn’t have extraordinary numbers in the league. They roped in the likes of Sandeep Lamichhane and Imran Tahir, but they didn’t stay for long. After the inclusion of R Ashwin and Axar Patel, the Capitals produced better results.
<h3>4. Mediocre Pace Battery</h3>
<img class=”size-full wp-image-19574″ src=”https://www.sportiqo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sportiqo-Blog-Image-686386-3-2.png” alt=”Delhi Capitals’ fast bowlers” width=”686″ height=”386″ /> Image Source: <a href=”cricketcountry.com”>Cricket Country</a>
Umesh Yadav, Ajit Agarkar, Pat Cummins, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Morne Morkel, and Trent Boult played for this franchise at some stage. But almost all of them parted ways with DC quite quickly. Even in their presence, the franchise could never build a strong pace bowling combination. Their pace attack lacked variety and, at times, venom too.
<h3>5. Letting Go Quality Players</h3>
<img class=”size-full wp-image-19575″ src=”https://www.sportiqo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sportiqo-Blog-Image-686386-4-2.png” alt=”Delhi Capitals’ best players” width=”686″ height=”386″ /> Image Source: <a href=”crictracker.com”>Crictracker</a>
To succeed in league cricket, it’s imperative to hold on to the players who have a bright future ahead of them. If you let them go, some other side will grab them, and you won’t have a chance to have them again. Amongst the local players, Delhi let go of Gautam Gambhir, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and R Ashwin. <a href=”https://www.timesofsports.com/cricket/ipl/2023-dc-squad/”>Overseas stars</a> like AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Morne Morkel, Trent Boult, Pat Cummins, Imran Tahir, Aaron Finch, and David Warner.
Warner came back to them later, but other players settled with other franchises. Even Warner came back after playing his best cricket for Sunrisers Hyderabad and also won a ipl trophy for them. If the Delhi Capitals want to end their wait to become the IPL champions, they must refrain from releasing players who have such potential.
