IPL 2021 is back after 140 days, and the excitement couldn’t be more palpable within cricketing circles. The competition has now inevitably become a two-phased tournament, which will bring its own challenges as the tournament resumes from the halfway stage.
We’re back in the UAE just like we were last year, where we enjoyed a stellar outing in 2020, reaching our first ever final. The fact that fans will return to the stadiums for the first time since 2019 in the competition only compounds our belief that this year is will eclipse our highs of 2020. The sounds of passionate DC fans shouting “DC! DC” is already ringing in our ears, and we can’t wait for the first ball to be bowled.
Woke up like this because #IPL2021 resumes today π€©#YehHaiNayiDilli #CSKvMI @akshar2026 pic.twitter.com/DHw58oJbVI
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 19, 2021
Key moves in our squad
The biggest news of all is the return of the talismanic Shreyas Iyer. The star batsman frustratingly missed out on the India leg of IPL 2021 due to a shoulder injury but makes his way back to the side after making a full recovery from it. He was one of our best performers when we last turned up in UAE, notching up 519 runs at an average of 34.60 as he led the Delhi Capitals to the finals.
He will be expected to slot straight back into the line-up, and if social media is anything to go by, Shreyas Iyer is ready to roar for DC once again in 2021.
View this post on Instagram
Even though it’s been only a few months since we played our last IPL 2021 game on May 2 against the Punjab Kings, the DC squad has a new feel to it. Chris Woakes is unfortunately unavailable after opting out of the competition due to personal reasons, and the Englishman’s abilities with the ball will certainly be missed.
Just a look at what the newest addition to our pace battery, Ben Dwarshuis can do with the ball in hand ππ₯#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/u5t7Gw9Mlz
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 13, 2021
However, he is replaced by “Moustache Man” Ben Dwarshuis, who brings with him a whole lot of Big Bash experience. The Australian speed gun is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the competition and is a master of the format with 100 T20 scalps to his name. This will be the second outing in the competition for the 27-year-old after he was picked by the Punjab Kings in 2018. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to showcase his skills that season but would be raring to go on UAE pitches that saw pacers go well last time out.
View this post on Instagram
Bolstering our pace battery further is Kulwant Khejroliya, with the left-arm pacer coming in as a replacement for the injured Siddharth Manimaran. The spinner suffered a quadriceps strain in training and missed out on the second half of the tournament as a result. In Kulwant, we have a more than adequate replacement, with his left-arm angle adding a much-needed variety to the DC pace pack.
What have we been up to recently?
The DC Men in Blue were one of the first teams to touch down in UAE, with some of our stars arriving as early as 21st August. After countless COVID-19 tests and a strict quarantine, they have been training intensely under the watchful eye of Pravin Amre and Co.
Touchdown π¦πͺ
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) August 21, 2021
Mandatory group arrival photo done right πΈπ#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/euIDeCA3Cm
Other international stars along with The Boss Ricky Ponting have joined in due course, with our Indian contingent from England getting out of quarantine on 17th September and hitting the nets straight away.
It will all be about building up to the first game now, and as Ricky Ponting recently revealed, he has a plan in place for what the next few days will entail for our favourite cricketers. Speaking to us after his first day of training, Ponting had this to say.
“It’s been a really good worthwhile camp so far. Now we just got to start, probably putting the handbrakes on some of the players a little bit. You know we’re 7 or 8 days out from our first game. They’ve been working hard for a long time. It’s very hot and humid. So, we just got to take all those things into account.” – Ricky Ponting
View this post on Instagram
A look ahead
Even though half of the tournament is over, IPL 2021 in the UAE is essentially the business end of the competition. And we couldn’t be in a better position at the start of it. Top of the table with the league’s second-best Net Run Rate, it is time to make the good start count and wrap up qualification as early as possible.
Our past performances in UAE further strengthen the belief that this second phase of the competition will see DC at its best. It was Kagiso Rabada who ended up with the Purple Cap in 2020, picking up 30 wickets. He was admirably supported by his South African teammate Anrich Nortje, and we can’t wait to see the dynamic duo ripple a few nerves with their searing pace once again.
Marcus Stoinis enjoyed his best season in the IPL last year too, scoring 352 runs with 13 wickets to go with it. Big Stoin will once again be expected to don multiple hats this time out, and expect a few fireworks from him with both bat and ball during the course of the season.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan will look to pick up from where they left off when the season was suspended. Arguably, the league’s most in-form opening pair, the Gabbar Shaw Show aggregated 512 runs at a rate of 9.25 per over and bagged four of the five Player of the Match awards in the first 8 games. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to predicting what the duo has in store for us in UAE.
3 out of our 6 remaining games in Dubai means it allows us a chance to assess the ground and the conditions in the best possible manner. With the final scheduled at the same venue as well, the match practice could prove to be handy come the knockout stages of IPL 2021.
The Rishabh Pant led side will take to the field in Dubai on 22nd September, where we come up against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a thrilling encounter against the Men in Orange last time out, with Axar Patel’s heroics getting us over the line via a Super Over in April. If that game was anything to go by, you would not want to be away from your TV screens come the 22nd.
And if you need a refresher from the first half of the season, well, we’ve got that covered for you as well!
IPL 2021 is back after 140 days, and the excitement couldn’t be more palpable within cricketing circles. The competition has now inevitably become a two-phased tournament, which will bring its own challenges as the tournament resumes from the halfway stage.
We’re back in the UAE just like we were last year, where we enjoyed a stellar outing in 2020, reaching our first ever final. The fact that fans will return to the stadiums for the first time since 2019 in the competition only compounds our belief that this year is will eclipse our highs of 2020. The sounds of passionate DC fans shouting “DC! DC” is already ringing in our ears, and we can’t wait for the first ball to be bowled.
Woke up like this because #IPL2021 resumes today π€©#YehHaiNayiDilli #CSKvMI @akshar2026 pic.twitter.com/DHw58oJbVI
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 19, 2021
Key moves in our squad
The biggest news of all is the return of the talismanic Shreyas Iyer. The star batsman frustratingly missed out on the India leg of IPL 2021 due to a shoulder injury but makes his way back to the side after making a full recovery from it. He was one of our best performers when we last turned up in UAE, notching up 519 runs at an average of 34.60 as he led the Delhi Capitals to the finals.
He will be expected to slot straight back into the line-up, and if social media is anything to go by, Shreyas Iyer is ready to roar for DC once again in 2021.
View this post on Instagram
Even though it’s been only a few months since we played our last IPL 2021 game on May 2 against the Punjab Kings, the DC squad has a new feel to it. Chris Woakes is unfortunately unavailable after opting out of the competition due to personal reasons, and the Englishman’s abilities with the ball will certainly be missed.
Just a look at what the newest addition to our pace battery, Ben Dwarshuis can do with the ball in hand ππ₯#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/u5t7Gw9Mlz
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 13, 2021
However, he is replaced by “Moustache Man” Ben Dwarshuis, who brings with him a whole lot of Big Bash experience. The Australian speed gun is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the competition and is a master of the format with 100 T20 scalps to his name. This will be the second outing in the competition for the 27-year-old after he was picked by the Punjab Kings in 2018. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to showcase his skills that season but would be raring to go on UAE pitches that saw pacers go well last time out.
View this post on Instagram
Bolstering our pace battery further is Kulwant Khejroliya, with the left-arm pacer coming in as a replacement for the injured Siddharth Manimaran. The spinner suffered a quadriceps strain in training and missed out on the second half of the tournament as a result. In Kulwant, we have a more than adequate replacement, with his left-arm angle adding a much-needed variety to the DC pace pack.
What have we been up to recently?
The DC Men in Blue were one of the first teams to touch down in UAE, with some of our stars arriving as early as 21st August. After countless COVID-19 tests and a strict quarantine, they have been training intensely under the watchful eye of Pravin Amre and Co.
Touchdown π¦πͺ
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) August 21, 2021
Mandatory group arrival photo done right πΈπ#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/euIDeCA3Cm
Other international stars along with The Boss Ricky Ponting have joined in due course, with our Indian contingent from England getting out of quarantine on 17th September and hitting the nets straight away.
It will all be about building up to the first game now, and as Ricky Ponting recently revealed, he has a plan in place for what the next few days will entail for our favourite cricketers. Speaking to us after his first day of training, Ponting had this to say.
“It’s been a really good worthwhile camp so far. Now we just got to start, probably putting the handbrakes on some of the players a little bit. You know we’re 7 or 8 days out from our first game. They’ve been working hard for a long time. It’s very hot and humid. So, we just got to take all those things into account.” – Ricky Ponting
View this post on Instagram
A look ahead
Even though half of the tournament is over, IPL 2021 in the UAE is essentially the business end of the competition. And we couldn’t be in a better position at the start of it. Top of the table with the league’s second-best Net Run Rate, it is time to make the good start count and wrap up qualification as early as possible.
Our past performances in UAE further strengthen the belief that this second phase of the competition will see DC at its best. It was Kagiso Rabada who ended up with the Purple Cap in 2020, picking up 30 wickets. He was admirably supported by his South African teammate Anrich Nortje, and we can’t wait to see the dynamic duo ripple a few nerves with their searing pace once again.
Marcus Stoinis enjoyed his best season in the IPL last year too, scoring 352 runs with 13 wickets to go with it. Big Stoin will once again be expected to don multiple hats this time out, and expect a few fireworks from him with both bat and ball during the course of the season.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan will look to pick up from where they left off when the season was suspended. Arguably, the league’s most in-form opening pair, the Gabbar Shaw Show aggregated 512 runs at a rate of 9.25 per over and bagged four of the five Player of the Match awards in the first 8 games. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to predicting what the duo has in store for us in UAE.
3 out of our 6 remaining games in Dubai means it allows us a chance to assess the ground and the conditions in the best possible manner. With the final scheduled at the same venue as well, the match practice could prove to be handy come the knockout stages of IPL 2021.
The Rishabh Pant led side will take to the field in Dubai on 22nd September, where we come up against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a thrilling encounter against the Men in Orange last time out, with Axar Patel’s heroics getting us over the line via a Super Over in April. If that game was anything to go by, you would not want to be away from your TV screens come the 22nd.
And if you need a refresher from the first half of the season, well, we’ve got that covered for you as well!
