Delhi Capitals take on Mumbai Indians in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 in Mumbai on Sunday. It will be the first match after returning to the franchise for Shikhar Dhawan and along with Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma, he will have a lot to prove ahead of this year’s World Cup.

When it comes to Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma’s performance will also be keenly observed as he is expected to open in the World Cup. Besides, the three-time IPL winners have added legendary Yuvraj Singh to their squad, which already has a few big-hitters in Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Suryakumar Yadav to name a few.

Here’s the Delhi Capitals’ Predicted XI against Mumbai Indians -

Shikhar Dhawan

The ‘Gabbar’ is back in Delhi and the India opener will be raring to go for his home side. Dhawan found a bit of form in the ODI series against Australia and he will be looking to prove his worth ahead of the World Cup.

Prithvi Shaw

The youngster has impressed everyone with his batting skills and although his tour of Australia was hampered by injury, he will be looking to come back strongly and to score a lot of runs at the top of the batting order.

Shreyas Iyer

The skipper was a massive hit last season for Delhi Capitals and with a lot of good performances in the domestic cricket circuit, Delhi Capitals will be expecting a lot from the Mumbai batsman.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant will have to compete with Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik for the reserve wicketkeeper’s slot in the World Cup squad and a good performance will really help his cause.

Colin Ingram

The South Africa veteran is no stranger to T20 cricket leagues and thanks to his performances around the world, he has made a name for himself as a finisher and that is the role that Capitals will be expecting him to fulfil.

Sherfane Rutherford

Rutherford, who has made a name for himself while playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Carribean Premier League, was bought in the auctions for Rs 2 crore. The 20-year-old had a base price of Rs 40 lakh and he sparked quite a bidding war between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Axar Patel

Axar Patel showed good batting form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and DC can trust him to bat at number six. With the ball, he will be able support for Amit Mishra and he is known for picking crucial wickets.

Trent Boult

Trent Boult had a brilliant run of form for Delhi Capitals last season and if he can continue that this time around, the newly christened side will surely be favourites to reach the play-offs.

Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra has been quite successful in the Indian Premier League and with 146 wickets under his belt, he is currently the highest wicket-taker among Indian bowlers in the tournament.

Kagiso Rabada

A death-over specialist and known for his lethal pace - Kagiso Rabada is an asset for Delhi Capitals and he will be a perfect partner for Trent Boult in the bowling department.

Ishant Sharma

Both head coach Ricky Ponting and advisor Sourav Ganguly were all praise for Ishant Sharma ahead of the season and he is expected to be the third pace option for Delhi Capitals.

First Published: Mar 24, 2019 13:01 IST