The Cricketer's quickfire look at the Capitals ahead of the 2022 season
Captain: Rishabh Pant. The exciting Indian wicketkeeper-batsman had an encouraging start to life in leadership last year.
Coach: Ricky Ponting. Among the very best minds working in cricket. The former Australia captain is being coveted by international sides, so the Capitals should value him while he's with them. He'll be supported by two other Aussies, in Shane Watson and James Hopes.
How did they do last year: Delhi Capitals won 10 of their 14 league games last season, finishing top of the pile, but lost both of their matches in the knockout phase.
Overseas headliner?
David Warner's departure from Sunrisers Hyderabad preceded a very happy Delhi table when the Australian was picked up at the mega auction in February.
The Australian batsman will miss the start of the season but will provide impetus after arriving off international duty. He is set to form an opening partnership with Privthi Shaw.
The Capitals' Aussie connection continues with Mitch Marsh, the undoubted T20 star of world cricket in 2021. The allrounder is in the form of his life, with a World Cup and Big Bash triumph to his name in recent months.
Watch out for Anrich Nortje, who appears to be fit enough to be ready to make some sort of appearance in the competition - though he may well miss early rounds. Nortje's pace and aggression is vital to Delhi.
Finally, there's Rovman Powell, the destructive middle-order batting allrounder who showed England just what he can do with a blistering ton on Barbados in January. When on top of his game, Powell can score quickly and could well provide the death-over boundary rate that Capitals will be after.
Indian superstar?
Pant is the Delhi kingpin. A free-hitting, free-wheeling IPL juggernaut, the stocky keeper-bat can single-handedly take down an attack. And his glovework is coming on leaps and bounds too.
The Indian spinning arsenal at Delhi looks useful too: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Vicky Ostwal (India's leading wicket-taker at the Under 19 World Cup this year) all offer something different.
Biggest strength?
At full strength, a top four of Warner, Shaw, Marsh and Pant is imposing. Expect a few quick starts.
Where's the weakness?
There's an awful lot of big names and overseas players missing in the early stages of the competition for Delhi. They need their local stars and upcoming talent to give them a foothold, and not risk having to play catch-up.
Squad: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal
Likely starting XI: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Safaraz Khan, Rovman Powell, Shardul Thakur, Axal Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya
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