Vibe in one line

18 years on, the hunt for IPL glory continues for the perennial contenders.

What's changed in 2026

Their core intact, Delhi Capitals have added reinforcements aimed at fixing the cracks that derailed their 2025 campaign. The PowerPlay - both with bat and ball - was a persistent weakness, prompting the arrivals of Pathum Nissanka and Ben Duckett, alongside domestic options like Abhishek Porel and Prithvi Shaw, to offer greater flexibility in combinations. That said, constant chopping and changing in this very department hurt them last season, and stability will be key this time around. The bargain acquisition of David Miller should add much-needed impetus and finishing firepower to the batting.

On the bowling front, domestic standout Auqib Nabi Dar arrives on the back of a stellar Ranji Trophy season. With a significant investment behind him, Delhi will be banking on his knack for early breakthroughs to address their other key concern.

Team Identity

DC's 2025 went kaput despite five wins in the first six games, largely due to instability in batting. Momentum fizzled when it should have peaked and they narrowly missed out on the top-four finish yet again. Their opening partnership averaged 21.78 in IPL 2025, the lowest among all teams, and had a run rate of 8.67, the second-worst after CSK.

In contrast, the lower order offered plenty of encouragement: their nos. 5 to 8 tallied 872 runs - third-highest overall - at a strike-rate of 162.38, second only to eventual champions RCB. Bridging this star top-order inconsistency with their lower-order firepower could well be the key to finally turning promise into a playoff berth (and potentially more).

Core XII (if all fit)

KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, David Miller, Sameer Rizvi/Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (C), Ashutosh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Auqib Nabi, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar/T Natarajan

Injury/Availability Watch

Mitchell Starc is set to miss the start of the season with Cricket Australia adopting a cautious approach to managing his workloads ahead of a demanding international schedule. The 36-year-old quick's availability is currently contingent on his progress in return-to-play protocols over the coming weeks. Given his vast experience, Starc's absence could leave a significant gap in DC's new-ball attack.

What they do better than most

Middle-overs spin strangle

Their seamers struggled, in PowerPlay and at death, but the spin duo of skipper Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav remains the envy of many sides. Both Kuldeep (31 wickets, ER: 7.8) and Axar (16 wickets, ER: 8.0) - along with Vipraj Nigam, who chipped in 11 wickets in 2025 - have ensured that the spin department is far from a concern for the management.

A player that changes their ceiling

KL Rahul

KL Rahul was Delhi Capitals' top scorer in IPL 2025 with 539 runs at 53.9, and the only batter from the side in the top 10. Yet, inexplicably, he opened just four times. Rahul's consistency is remarkable: he has tallied 500+ runs in seven of the last eight seasons with only Virat Kohli (8) ahead of him in this feat. DC would be counting on the senior to anchor the opening responsibilities and consistently provide launchpads.

What could trip them up

Toothless bowling

Their batting woes drew more attention in high-scoring seasons, but DC's bowling in two key phases - PowerPlay and slog-overs - was equally alarming. DC's quicks managed just 10 wickets in the Powerplay in IPL 2025 at an average of 53.2 while going at 9.41 RPO and then leaked at 11.39 runs per over in overs 16-20 across the last three IPL seasons. In IPL 2025, they picked the fewest wickets (25) and had the second-worst average (25.56) in this phase. Failing to strike early and control the death overs remains a key vulnerability that could derail their playoff ambitions.

The one to watch

Pathum Nissanka

The destructive Sri Lankan opener averages 34.3 in 38 innings, totalling 1235 runs with two hundreds and eight fifties, since IPL 2025 in the shortest format, and could well be the answer to DC's opening conundrum.

One game to circle

Of the limited schedule announced so far, Delhi Capitals have two back-to-back home games sandwiched between two away fixtures. With a home record of just 50 percent in 22 games since IPL 2023, Delhi will be eager to set the record straight and make the most of familiar conditions to gain early momentum before heading out on the road.