Australia batsman Steve Smith and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis attended their first practice session with the Delhi Capitals (DC) after completing their mandatory quarantine on Friday.
The franchise, who finished runners-up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season, said that the pair played a practice match with the rest of the DC squad. The team has been training at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
DC face Chennai Super Kings in their first match of the season at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will lead the team in place of Shreyas Iyer, who has been ruled out for the season with a dislocated shoulder.
Head coach Ricky Ponting said that he expects the team to win the title this season considering the kind of players they have.
"I am thrilled with the players that we've got here, and I think we can win the IPL. Might as well go on record and say it now because that's what I am here for and that's what the players are here for," he said.
"We've had our chat and it's all about winning and how we can go one step further from last year. But the other important thing for me is that we've got a very different group from the one we had last year. What happened last year doesn't matter. We've got to work out a way to win enough games to qualify and then win the final," he added.