Cricket News: 3 reasons why DC had a poor IPL 2023 campaign | Why did Delhi Capitals struggle in IPL 2023?
Delhi Capitals (DC) entered IPL 2023 with a really strong looking squad on paper. However, they completely failed to live up to the hype, failing miserably in their campaign. They finished with just ten points in 14 games, and stayed at the bottom of the points table for most part of the tournament.
Why did DC struggle in IPL 2023?
On that note, let’s take a look at three key things that went wrong for Delhi Capitals this IPL.
1. Prithvi Shaw’s form
Coming into the season, Ricky Ponting, head coach of Delhi Capitals, predicted that Prithvi Shaw would have his biggest and most successful IPL season in 2023. Unfortunately, the complete opposite happened.
Shaw scored only 47 runs in the first six games at a strike rate of 118. In the 2022 edition of the IPL, Shaw scored 283 runs at a strike rate of over 150. The massive decline in Shaw’s form ended up costing DC big time. They were left with no option but to drop him. Shaw was replaced by Philip Salt, but ever since Salt’s inclusion, DC lost a wicket in the first over four times in the six games that followed.
DC brought Shaw back for their second-last game of the season vs Punjab Kings, where he finally delivered and scored a fine 54 at a healthy strike rate of 142. The Capitals would have felt that this knock came a bit too late, but it was certainly an indication of what could have been had Shaw picked form earlier in the tournament.
In the last game of the season, Shaw once again failed, scoring 5 off 7, further proving how inconsistent he has been this season. Whether DC retain him or not going into the next season remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Shaw is a top talent and can be an asset for DC in the years to come.
2. Axar Patel’s batting position
The Delhi Capitals management made some baffling decisions. One of them was their treatment of Axar Patel, who, despite his strong form, batted mostly at 6 and 7 throughout DC’s campaign.
Axar scored 283 runs this season at an average close to 29 and strike rate of almost 140. In a side that has collapsed more often than not, it was he who stood out. It was quite shocking how DC refused to promote him up the order even after showing some real character in difficult situations.
Eventually, Axar was sent at 5 vs the Punjab Kings, but just one opportunity for someone who has been mighty impressive does not do justice to all the hardwork he has put in to become a proper batter. DC could have looked at the possibility of playing him at 5 or even 4 in the hope it could solve their middle order woes.
3. Lack of a quality legspinner in the squad
In a season where legspinners have been vital to the success of their teams, Delhi Capitals found themselves without a single quality option to get them through their middle overs.
Rashid Khan for GT, Piyush Chawla for MI, Yuzvendra Chahal for RR, Ravi Bishnoi for LSG, Suyash Sharma for KKR and Mayank Markande for SRH all provided their teams with crucial breakthroughs throughout the season.
Legspinners go for runs, but how often have we seen them notch those crucial wickets and turn the game around on its head? Having just one legspinner in Pravin Dubey, DC missed a trick by not going for Amit Mishra or any other experienced, quality legspinner at the auctions.
Even Pravin Dubey managed to get just one chance in DC’s home game against PBKS, where he bowled a decent spell, finishing with 1-19 in his three overs. However, when DC played PBKS again less than a week later in the reverse fixture, he was dropped even after bowling fairly well in his only game.
DC would feel they missed a trick by not playing Dubey more often this season. They could have played him in their last game to let him prove what can be expected from him in the next season, but it wasn’t to be.
