(Cricket news) Delhi Capitals will be without their captain and star batter Rishabh Pant. David Warner will lead the side in his absence but his absence behind the wickets and in the middle order will be felt. Delhi Capitals have a very good squad that has the potential to go very far in the tournament. Warner has prior captaincy experience in the tournament as he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to a win in 2016. There are a few other players who will join late due to international fixtures.

Delhi Capitals Ideal playing XI for IPL 2023:

Openers: David Warner & Prithvi Shaw

The dynamic left and right hand combination will set the tone. Shaw has been performing consistently for Mumbai in domestic cricket but is still not able to get an India call-up. A good performance with Delhi Capitals will do him a world of good. Warner will be back as a captain and it will be interesting to see if his game also improves with the added responsibility.  

Middle order: Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan & Rovman Powell

Manish Pandey with all his experience will be looking to roll back the years this season. He had an underwhelming tournament with LSG last year but this time around with Delhi Capitals Pandey will be hoping for a better performance. In absence of Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan is likely to keep wickets. Even though he doesn’t keep that regularly, he is possibly the best option. He is one of the most inform batters in the domestic circuit and Sarfaraz will be hoping to have an impact in the IPL. The West Indies captain Rovman Powell will be very important in the lower middle order. His big hitting ability is invaluable and crucial for the Delhi Capitals. 

All-rounders: Mitchell Marsh & Axar Patel

Spinner: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has been performing well in international cricket whenever given the opportunity. He will be looking to keep going to further improve his performances with the Delhi Capitals.

Seamers: Ainrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed & Mukesh Kumar 

Khaleel Ahmed had a good last season and he will be looking to continue that way. Mukesh Kumar was recently called up to the Indian T20 squad but he is yet to make his IPL debut. He is likely to get the nod ahead of the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Aman Khan, Ishant Sharma and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Anrich Nortje along with other foreign players Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman will be unavailable for the first few matches. In that case Delhi will bring in an Indian seamer and play Phil Salt ahead of Manish Pandey in the middle order.

Bench: Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan, Phil Salt, Ishant Sharma, Rilee Rossouw.

Also read: Lucknow Super Giants’ ideal playing XI for IPL 2023