Often languishing in the bottom-half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Points Table, Delhi Daredevils (DD), will look forward to turning things around in 11th Edition of the IPL. Known to nurture and promote young talents with their surprise selections at auctions, the owners at Delhi Daredevils changed their approach in this VIVO IPL Auction. Gautam Gambhir makes a return to their squad, after a long stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), this year and would be seeking to change their fortunes this season.

Delhi Daredevils heavily rely on Gautam Gambhir’s experience in this format of the game, to see their team qualify for the Qualifiers – something which they haven’t been able to do in last five years. In the initial IPL years, when Gambhir played for DD, the side was a strong contender for the IPL trophy winner. Along with Ricky Ponting as their Head Coach, Delhi Daredevils be looking to revive their chances in this IPL and drop their ‘wooden-spoon’ tag!

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Chris Morris were retained by the franchise and would form the core of their team this year. Glenn Maxwell will return to where he began his IPL career. The flamboyant batsman, who has had a hot-and-cold IPL career so far, would be itching to prove his worth this season. Also a spinner and a live-wire on the field, DD’s chances to qualify in the Qualifiers would much depend on how the Aussie’s consistency.

England opener  Jason Roy's, who smashed a brilliant inning of 182 runs against Australia earlier this year, presence at the top of the order will be a big plus for the side. Also playing for DD this season is Colin Munro – the only player to hit three T20 centuries. If this Kiwi batsman is able to replicate his batting prowess in the IPL, it will be a delight for the franchise and fans as well.

All eyes will be on Sandeep Lamichhane, the surprise pick of the auction, who is the only player from the associate nation - Nepal, to represent in the IPL tournament. The Man of the Match in U-19 ICC Cricket World Cup final, Manjot Kalra will look forward to grabbing the chances given and showcase his talent in the cash-rich league. It will be exciting to see how does the franchise goes about the talent in India’s Under-19 winning captain - Prithvi Shaw. The dashing opener has a reputation of scoring Hundred in his debut matches. Will he be able to make another one in IPL?

In the bowling department, the Delhi franchise will look up to Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammad Shami to fire. Shahbaz Nadeem has impressed with his numerous performances in the limited opportunities he has been given in IPL. Along with, Amit Mishra – highest wicket-taker for DD, the duo will pose a tough challenge for the opposition.

Delhi Daredevils play its home matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. The Delhi franchise, owned by GMR Group, has never won an IPL Title in the tournament’s history; it would be banking a lot on the many T20 specialists they have bought during this IPL Auction.

DELHI DAREDEVILS FULL SQUAD FOR IPL 2018 [25 players]

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammad Shami, Gautam Gambhir, Trent Boult, Colin Munro, Daniel Christian, Jason Roy, Naman Ojha, Prithvi Shaw, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Avesh Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Harshal Patel, Manjot Kalra, , and Sayan Ghosh.

Support Staff:

Head Coach: Ricky Ponting

Bowling Coach: James Hopes

Assistant Coaches: Pravin Amre and Sriram Sreedharan

After a very long time, the Delhi Daredevils have fared well at the IPL Auction, this year. With a dynamic mix of both youth and experience, the revamped DD franchise will be hoping to be in the Qualifiers this season. It will be nostalgic to see Gambhir back at Delhi, playing for his home team. Also, with Ricky Ponting as a coach at the helm of affairs of the team, things are going to be exciting in the Indian Premier League. Stay tuned with us for all the updates on VIVO Indian Premier League 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2018 01:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).