The Delhi Daredevils had a relatively young team in IPL 2016, but they did not do too well in the competition, and failed to progress into the Playoff stages as well. Hence, that strategy of young players may not be adopted when the team officials sit down during the IPL 2017 auction in Bengaluru on Monday.
Also read: IPL 2017 complete schedule
Delhi Daredevils now need to look for quality stars as success is important for the team, who are yet to win the IPL. They released seven players, out of which three were foreigners, and decided to do away with the costliest Indian buy in the IPL 2016 auction — Pawan Negi — who could not live up to the expectations.
The DD officials need to take some important decisions, since four out of their five foreigners will be leaving early. JP Duminy, Chris Morris, Quinton de Kock (all from South Africa) and Sam Billings (England) will not be available for the entire length of the competition. The DD have to be smart in their business during the IPL 2017 auction.
They need to look at some foreign batsmen who can not only strengthen Delhi's squad, but also play an important role when Duminy and Kock leave, as both the players are regular starters for DD.
Some quality names are available in the pool of players. Australia's Ben Dunk and Michael Klinger, who have had a terrific Big Bash, should be their key targets as they can create havoc with their batting. New Zealand's Martin Guptill could prove to be handy at the top of the order with his big-hitting skills.
Since Dunk is a wicket-keeper, he could be a direct replacement for Kock. They can also look at Mohammad Shahazad and Jason Roy for the opening slot.
The middle order of DD should be strengthened and they can look at Indian batsmen such as Manoj Tiwary, Subramaniam Badrinath and Unmukt Chand, while Eoin Morgan could be a great choice as an international cricketer.
Though they have Chris Morris and Carlos Brathwaite as all-rounders, they should purchase an Indian all-rounder too. Unfortunately, India have never been blessed with such all-rounders, and DD should make sure that they get Irfan Pathan as back-up.
The Delhi Daredevils have two quality spinners in the form of Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra, and also Duminy, who takes up the role occasionally, but if they feel the need to add another spinner, they can look at Tahir and snap him up via right-to-match option. Since Tahir not be available for the full length of IPL 2017, DD can look at Indian spinners, including Pragyan Ojha and Karn Sharma, as both the spinners have good IPL experience.
Also, more importantly, the Delhi Daredevils have a huge need for fast bowlers. They have Zaheer Khan and Mohammad Shami, but they need to look at other options available. With top Indian bowler Ishant Sharma available, they should have their eyes on him, but his base price of Rs 2 crore could stand in their way despite DD possessing a mega purse of Rs 21.5 crore for the auction.
Delhi Daredevils will surely strengthen the pace department, and there are some good options in Mitchell Johnson, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Johnson, Tymal Mills and Trent Boult. Rabada, Johnson and Mills could be an ideal choice for the DD, but these players could be on the radar of all the teams in the IPL 2017.
