IPL 2020: Can Delhi Capitals break their title jinx in the UAE this time?

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals (earlier known as Delhi Daredevils) have not really been a force to reckon with in the Indian Premier League, despite having world class cricketers in their ranks over the years. The Delhi outfit is the only team in the tournament who haven't made a final appearance yet.
RECORD SO FAR
The franchise's decision to change the name of the team last season to Delhi Capitals also brought some change in fortunes, as they made their way to the knockout phase after a seven-year hiatus before losing to Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 2.

Before that they finished 6th in the 2017 edition and eighth in 2018.

STRENGTHS
GOOD MIX OF INDIAN & FOREIGN FIREPOWER - Having traded in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane and bought the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Roy, Chris Woakes, Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis in the IPL 2020 auction, DC have a right mix of foreign and domestic stars which will bolster their squad.
INDIAN TOP ORDER - Delhi is one team which boasts of a very good Indian top order, with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, captain Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw. They also have the services of Ajinkya Rahane this season, but he might find it difficult to break into the playing XI
IYER THE CAPTAIN - Shreyas Iyer showed last season that he is not one to be intimidated by the challenges of captaincy. His main challenge will be to keep his own batting form sharp, while marshalling multiple senior players. Last season they fell just short of making their maiden final, losing to CSK in Qualifier 2
COACHING STAFF - They also have a great cricketing brain as their head coach in the legendary Ricky Ponting. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif who is the assistant coach brings in a lot of experience which will come in handy to nurture young talent.

THE ONES WHO CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
THE ALL-ROUNDERS - The likes of Marcus Stonis and Chris Woakes will be useful in this department. Delhi also have spinner Axar Patel, who could be a very handy batsman.
THE SPIN FACTOR - On the slow and turning tracks of the UAE, Delhi will look to unleash their spin attack which mainly comprises the likes of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane and Axar Patel
FAST BOWLERS - Delhi have Ishant Sharma in their ranks and he will be assisted by the likes of Chris Woakes, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Marcus Stoinis, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan. Captain Shreyas Iyer will have many options here, however there aren't too many quality Indian pacers to pick from.

CHALLENGES
CLICKING AS ONE UNIT - This has been Delhi's perennial problem. They can't have only a few players doing all the heavy lifting. Last season Iyer complimented the team and said every player took initiative and responsibility. They need more of that this season
CAN THE SPINNERS DELIVER? On the UAE tracks, spin is going to play a big role. Delhi do have two senior spinners in Ashwin and Amit Mishra, but will the spin department overall manage to produce enough guile to stump the opposition. They need to find an X-factor here
Full Squad: Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande