IPL 2021: 5 Delhi Capitals (DC) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The Tournament

With 6 wins in 8 matches, the Delhi Capitals (DC) were on the top of the points table before the IPL 2021 was suspended. Under stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant the team performed brilliantly and remained a dominant force.

Now, with the second phase of the season to be played in September, in the UAE, where the Delhi Capitals finished as the runner-ups last year, the side will be bolstered by the return of Shreyas Iyer. However, they will miss out on a few players, and it will dent their ambition to do one better than last season.

Here we look at 5 Delhi Capitals (DC) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The IPL 2021:

Chris Woakes

The ECB will not be allowing its players to play in the remainder of the IPL 2021, due to the tight international schedule and the rest needed by the players to cope with the bubble life. The IPL in September-October is sandwiched between the long 5-Test series between India and England, which will run from August to mid-September, and the T20 World Cup, starting mid-October, followed by the away Ashes.

Hence, ECB officials have stated that its players are unlikely to be granted permission for the second phase of the IPL.

The Delhi Capitals will be affected little for losing its English players. Bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes, who picked 5 wickets in 3 matches at an economy of 7.45 this season, will be a miss for them. However, the Delhi Capitals have plenty of bowling options, both Indian and overseas.

Tom Curran

Tom Curran is part of England’s white-ball setup and will also probably not appear for the Delhi Capitals this season again. Curran was not a first eleven player in Rishabh Pant’s side – he played 2 matches and was expensive, returning with combined figures of 1/75. Again, the Capitals have several pace bowling options to choose from, and Curran’s unavailability won’t affect their strongest combination.

Sam Billings

Sam Billings was the backup keeper for Rishabh Pant; he didn’t featured in a single game this season as a batsman. Billings is also part of England’s white-ball squads and will be the third English player the Delhi Capitals may miss out on in the UAE. They have young Vishnu Vinod as Pant’s backup keeper. Hence, Billings’ unavailability won’t be a major concern for the side.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith played in 6 matches in the first half of the season, scored 104 runs striking at 111.83. But he may also choose to not return this season.

Apart from the fact that Shreyas Iyer will return to the middle-order replacing Smith, the Australian batsman also doesn’t really have big monetary gains – he was bought for INR 2.2 crore in the auction – if he turns up in the UAE. Therefore, Smith is likely to pull out and prepare for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.

Marcus Stoinis

The unavailability of other players won’t hurt the Delhi Capitals as much as Marcus Stoinis’ would do. It is possible that the all-rounder opts out of the remainder of the season so as to remain physically and mentally fresh for the T20 World Cup.

Stoinis has scored 71 runs striking at 144.90, and taken a couple of wickets so far in the season. He was terrific last season in the UAE, where he scored 352 runs and snared 13 wickets in the Capitals’ rally to the final.

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