DC set for new era as Axar & Co. aim to arrest slump

DC in a new era with Axar as captain

DC has a new captain, Axar Patel, who has been with the franchise since 2019 and is at the prime of his career. The coaching setup has also seen a change with Hemang Badani as the head coach, Matthew Mott as his assistant, Kevin Pietersen as the team mentor, and Munaf Patel as a member of the coaching group.

In terms of personnel, DC has added Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, and Ashutosh Sharma to their squad. They aim to be stronger than the previous season and hope for a change in fortunes.

Best XI

Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (C), Donovan Ferreira (WK), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

Injury/Availability Concerns

Harry Brook's pulling out of the competition is a massive blow for DC. Mitchell Starc, who is set to return to competitive action, may have some pain in his ankle.

Player with a point to prove

KL Rahul has a lot to do to convince the selectors to bring him back into the T20I fold. He aims to break free and go back to his 2018 self.

Player who could have a breakout season

Sameer Rizvi, who has been in good touch for Uttar Pradesh, could have a breakout season in 2025.

Fixture build-up and run-in

DC will kick off their campaign with two games in Vizag and have gaps between games at the start of the tournament. The average first innings total in Delhi last IPL was 235, the highest among all venues. DC aims to correct their record with the additions of Starc and Natarajan.