What Delhi Daredevils need to do at the 2017 IPL auction

02/17/2017

Very few expected, and wanted, Delhi Dardevils' campaign to end that way last year after showing so much promise - flash, bang but then tapering to a whimper. From failing to get to a 100 in the opener, to chasing down 192 rather easily, and then losing a game by 80 runs, Delhi did it all last year.

How they performed last season

After winning five of the first seven games of the season, Delhi Dardevils did what was expected of them - suffer a "South African" level collapse. Over the second half of the season, they were able to win just two games, ending up just two points below the playoff places. They started the campaign with a humiliating loss, where they failed to post a triple digit score, against Kolkata Knight Riders. They picked up the pace with impressive wins against Punjab, Bangalore, and Mumbai before their winning streak was ended by Gujarat in a one-run win. The youthful and talented team consistently managed to score above 150 after their first two games, reaching the score in 9 of the remaining 12 matches, but it just wasn't enough.

So what went wrong for the Delhites last season? You could point out that they were overly reliant on Quinton de Kock and Karun Nair and while Rishabh Pant, and while Sanju Samson provided some cover it just wasn't enough. Their bowling, too, had a similar feel to it with Chris Morris and Amit Mishra having to carry the team in most games. Neither did their new acquisitions play a major part in their campaign. Pawan Negi raised a few eyebrows when he ended up being drafted to Delhi for a whopping price of Rs 8.5 crore. However, he wasn't the only disappointment. Carlos Braithwaite (4.2 crores) and Karun Nair (4 crores) failed to live up to the hype as well.

IPL 2017 | LIVE AUCTION

While it is commendable that the Delhi side wanted to blood youngsters into the team, history has shown us the value and importance of experienced players in the team. They need a better auction this year if they want to make it into the knock-out rounds this year.

Released players (7): Nathan Coulter-Nile, Imran Tahir, Joel Paris, Pawan Negi, Pawan Suyal, Akhil Arvind Herwadkar, and Mahipal Lomror.

Players retained (18): Jean-Paul Duminy, Mohammad Shami, Quinton de Kock, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Zaheer Khan, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Christopher Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, C.V. Milind, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, and Pratyush Singh.

Auction budget: 21.5 Crores

What they need to eye at the auction

This is the last season before all the player contracts expire and we get a sort of a reboot next season, and Delhi have the second highest amount in the kitty among all the teams. As such, they should not be too concerned with the amount of money they spend. However, they were overly dependent on de Kock in the last season, and with the kind of form he is in, he will surely play a major part in what Delhi have to offer this season. With Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Jean-Paul Duminy following the South African wicket-keeper, they appear to have a very strong top order.

Delhi's struggles with the ball were also a major problem last season and they would need to improve with just Chris Morris showing any real sort of class in the death overs. Amit Mishra's overs in the middle can help curb some runs, but the leggie doesn't have the consistency to last the distance alone.

One important decision that Delhi will have to make is the foreign players they employ this season due to the upcoming England-South Africa series in May. The series would mean the departure of de Kock and Duminy and any English player that they might buy. So they would need to build a team factoring this in.

The New Zealand players are the best options that Delhi can opt for this season. Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, and Martin Guptill are some that Delhi can opt for to have as substitutes for the two Proteas. On the Indian front, they could opt for Irfan Pathan, who could play an important part with both ball and bat. They could even pick one of the English all-rounders (Ben Stokes or Chris Woakes)to bring a little bit of much-needed experience to the team.

On the Indian players front, Prashant Chopra has had a wonderful Ranji Trophy season scoring 978 runs at an average of 57.52. However, it was his strike rate of 85.34 this season that has already caught the eye and it might just be the 24-year-old's time to make it on the big stage. Delhi have been known to give youngsters a chance and it shouldn't come as a surprise if they retain the same policy again this year.

While Delhi might not have too much experience on the field, off it, there is plenty on offer. They are coached by South African coach Paddy Upton, who as the Performance Director for the South African team when the Proteas became the top-ranked team in all formats of the game. Along woth Upton, Indian youth coach Rahul Dravid is also a part of the set up as a mentor. The Indian knows most of the talent available in the country and over the last year or so all his suggestions for the Indian team have been spot on. It should come as no surprise if Dravid picks a relatively unknown player and he eventually turns out to be the find of the year.

Players they should target: Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Prashant Chopra, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, and Martin Guptill