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The Delhi Capitals (DC) are one of the most well-rounded teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Yet, they find themselves closer to the Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) than to the Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, or Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The 4 wins and 6 losses are a byproduct of selection, tactics, and strategy.
To imagine that David Miller has been warming the bench, despite Delhi’s top-order falling more often than not, doesn’t make any sense. When you have Abhishek Porel or Prithvi Shaw, yet you persist with Pathum Nissanka and leave Miller or another foreign bowler out, it is head-scratching.
Pathum Nissanka has scored 228 runs at 25.33 in 9 matches | Image Credit: Asian Cricket CouncilWill Delhi Capitals continue shuffling?
Nissanka was dropped, but neither Porel nor Prithvi played. It was 19-year-old Sahil Parakh who was handed his IPL debut. Yet, after just one failure, he was chucked away. Sameer Rizvi and Nitish Rana have both been dropped, and Karun Nair has been tried as well, yet Porel, who was their second-highest run-getter last season, has played just once.
The issue isn’t that they’ve tried players. But there’s no method behind the madness. They’ve paired KL Rahul with Nissanka, an anchoring opener. Both aren’t the fastest of starters. Rahul has picked up his intent, but you need someone like Porel to allow him to settle down. Similarly, Rizvi, Miller, and Tristan Stubbs need time to go boom. That’s why Delhi not using Ashutosh Sharma as a disruptor doesn’t make sense.
The question before the KKR game isn’t what Delhi should do, because they haven’t made the right calls to start with. It almost seems certain that they’ll make another change, but who and what are something you can’t really decipher.
Predicted DC Playing XI vs KKR
| 1 | KL Rahul (wk) | Wicketkeeper opener |
| 2 | Pathum Nissanka | Opener |
| 3 | Nitish Rana | Top-order batter |
| 4 | Sameer Rizvi | Middle-order batter |
| 5 | Tristan Stubbs | Middle-order batter |
| 6 | Ashutosh Sharma | Finisher |
| 7 | Axar Patel (c) | All-rounder (spin) |
| 8 | Mitchell Starc | Left-arm fast bowler |
| 9 | Kuldeep Yadav | Left-arm wrist spinner |
| 10 | T Natarajan | Left-arm fast bowler |
| 11 | Lungi Ngidi | Right-arm fast bowler |
| Impact Player | Vipraj Nigam/ Auqib Nabi/ Karun Nair/ Mukesh Kumar/ Abhishek Porel |
The post Predicted DC Playing XI vs KKR: Will Axar Patel chop & change again? appeared first on Inside Sport India.
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