Lucknow Super Giants: Former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned Delhi Capitals’ leadership plans following their trade for Rishabh Pant from Lucknow Super Giants, identifying uncertainty over the captaincy and concerns around the pace attack as two major challenges for the franchise ahead of the upcoming IPL season.
Chopra believes KL Rahul could emerge as the leading option to captain the side, while Pant’s batting position will also be crucial to making the most of his return. Assessing the choices available to Delhi, Chopra noted the presence of multiple candidates but said the franchise’s final decision remains unclear.
“There are multiple questions, actually. It’s an MCQ because who will be the captain? Rishabh Pant has been a captaincy candidate, KL Rahul is an option, and I’m hearing that Axar doesn’t want to be the captain. So, with everything going on, you don’t even know who will captain the side. It could well be KL Rahul at this stage,” Chopra told JioStar.
He also stressed that Pant must be deployed in the top half of the batting order if Delhi are to extract maximum value from the trade, questioning the logic of bringing the wicketkeeper-batter back only to use him lower down the order, while suggesting that Lucknow may have benefited more from the exchange.
“And Rishabh Pant, now that you have traded him, must bat in the top four. If you are going to bat him lower than that, then you will not utilise him to his fullest potential. I felt that in that trade, LSG was better off because you couldn’t have asked for more than a bowler of Kuldeep’s calibre for that pitch,” he added.
While Delhi appear to have considerable batting depth, Chopra identified the bowling unit as a potential weakness, particularly with Mitchell Starc’s availability still uncertain. He also highlighted the financial investment in the fast-bowling options and the question marks surrounding their recent performances and pointed to the contrasting value of Delhi’s pace acquisitions, noting that some of their relatively inexpensive recruits had delivered strong returns, while the availability and form of the costlier options remained a concern.
“Ashutosh, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, plus Axar Patel, and then you’ve got Miller. So, it’s a very decent setup. The problem area for them will be their bowling department. Because Mitchell Starc, will he play? It will be a conversation as to whether he will be available to play or not. They will face an issue with their fast bowling this season and how they plan to address it, I’ve got no idea.
“Mukesh is at eight crore, Auqib Nabi at Rs 8.4 crore, and then you have Mitchell Starc at nearly 12, so that’s a lot of money. Lungi Ngidi was cheap, picked up for Rs 2 crore. He turned out to be a fantastic bargain. Dushmantha Chameera and Kyle Jamieson weren’t as expensive either. But the more expensive players might not be available. Their pedigree and current form are still uncertain, and Mukesh Kumar’s T20 numbers have actually plummeted a little,” Chopra stated.
