Sarfaraz to replace Pant as keeper, ₹5.5 crore star to debut: DC Likely XI | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Sarfaraz to replace Pant as keeper, uncapped 5.5 crore buy to make debut; DC's likely XI vs LSG in IPL 2023

Apr 01, 2023 12:52 PM IST

Delhi Capitals will play against Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2023 opener. Here's their likely XI.

David Warner will be back in the leadership role as Delhi Capitals begin their IPL 2023 journey against KL Rahul’s Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) on Saturday at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The newly appointed DC captain will hope that his side can finally get their hands on the coveted trophy that has eluded them for 15 seasons. Warner was named the DC captain after Rishabh Pant was ruled out with an injury.

David Warner(DC)
David Warner(DC)

After failing to reach the Playoffs six times in a row, Delhi made it to the top four in 2019, 2020, and 2021, finishing runners-up in 2020. In 2022, they finished fifth.

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Ahead of the 2023 auction, Delhi traded Shardul Thakur with the Kolkata Knight Riders and acquired Aman Khan. They also released KS Bharat, Tim Seifert, Mandeep Singh, and Ashwin Hebbar. DC made quite a few interesting picks in the mini-auction held in December. The franchise roped in the services of England's hard-hitting Phil Salt, seasoned batter Manish Pandey, and pacer Mukesh Kumar among others to bolster the squad. Rilee Rossouw was also brought in as a replacement for the previously released Tim Seifert.

With a well- rounded mix of youth and experience, with Ricky Ponting continuing as the coach and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly returning in the capacity of Director of Cricket, DC will hope to make this season a memorable one and lift their first IPL title.

Delhi boasts of an explosive batting line-up for the forthcoming edition and very much have the potential to score big runs. With the likes of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Rovman Powell, Rilee Rossouw, and Axar Patel all capable of hitting the ball out of the park.

However, the side was dealt a major blow when regular skipper Rishabh Pant was ruled out for the entirety of 2023 with injuries sustained in a horrible car accident on the eve of the year. As a captain, wicket-keeper and a dependable middle order batsman, Pant being unavailable will be a big loss for DC.

Delhi have replaced Pant in the squad with 20 year old Bengal wicket-keeper, Abhishek Porel. Manish Pandey and Sarfaraz Khan have both kept wickets in Indian domestic limited-overs cricket, and one of them is likely to take up that role here. Porel is unlikely to start the tournament.

DC do have Phil Salt as an overseas wicket-keeping option, but playing him would mean there might not be space for Rovman Powell in the starting XI. The Caribbean explosive batter is an important part of the DC middle order as he can score big runs and change the complexion of the game in the blink of an eye.

The Capitals do have a good bowling attack with the likes of Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, and Lungi Ngidi as the overseas options. While, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Chetan Sakariya, and the vastly experienced Ishant Sharma make up the domestic seam bowling attack.

The trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Lalit Yadav, and Axar Patel make up the spin bowling options.

DC will miss the services of Rillee Russouw, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi for the first game as they are on national duty with the Proteas.

DC predicted XI vs LSG

Openers: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw

Middle Order: Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan (wk), Rovman Powell

All-Rounders: Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar, Chetan Sakariya

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