Delhi Capitals had a below-par IPL season in 2022, as they finished 5th on the points table and were unable to reach the playoffs. You may be surprised to know that six different players were tried as Delhi Capitals’ opening batsmen in 2022.
Usually, franchises go with two to three batters for the opening slots during a league season. However, because of some forced changes, DC went far beyond those regular methods in the IPL season 15.
All Delhi Capitals Opener Batsman 2022
Delhi Capitals went with the following six openers in the previous IPL:
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David Warner
David Warner was unavailable for the selection during Delhi’s first couple of games. The reason for his unavailability was his late arrival at the DC camp. However, he was in for the third game and played all the remaining matches in the season.
The southpaw led the Capitals’ batting lineup throughout the season with 432 runs across 12 matches. His average of 48 and strike rate of 150.5 exhibit his importance for his franchise at the top of the order. He managed 5 half-centuries in IPL 2022, and his best score was 92*. Warner was easily DC’s best batter in the last season of IPL.
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Prithvi Shaw
The young Indian opener looked in great touch during the season, but he couldn’t feature in four out of the last five games played by Delhi Capitals. After being suspected of typhoid fever, Shaw was admitted to the hospital. His bad health forced him out of the remainder of IPL 2022 (except DC’s last group match).
Anyhow, the 10 games that he played went well for him and his franchise. His 283 runs in 10 games came at a scintillating strike rate of almost 153. Although he scored just two 50s and the highest score was 61, his cameos came in quickly time and were highly effective.
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Tim Seifert
The Kiwi hard hitter was drafted into the playing XI for the first couple of games due to Warner’s injury. He scored 21(14) and 3(5) in his two outings. These performances with the bat were insufficient to retain his place on Warner’s arrival. Siefert was dropped and didn’t get another chance during the remainder of the season.
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Mandeep Singh
Mandeep had already played a couple of matches at the #3 position when Shaw got injured. He was promoted to the opening slot, but all he could manage was a 5-ball duck. Consequently, he was dropped from the side.
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Srikar Bharat
Prithvi’s exclusion and Mandeep’s failures opened the selection doors for Srikar Bharat as he became the 5th Delhi Capitals opener batsman in 2022. However, he also was unable to make any impact and managed 8(5) and 2(0) in his two innings.
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Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfraz was shuffled around the DC batting order during their 2022 campaign. The failures of Mandeep and Bharat prompted Delhi’s management to bat him at the top of the order.
The decision proved to be a decent one as Sarfraz impressed with a 16-ball 32. But as Prithvi recovered before DC’s last game of the league stages, he came back to his opening position, and Sarfraz was again demoted down the order.
Delhi Capitals Opening Options for IPL 2023
Out of the 6 above-mentioned Delhi Capitals opening batsmen in 2022, only 3 were retained for the upcoming season. Those 3 names include David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Sarfraz Khan. Also, they have got Mitchell Marsh, who can open if needed.
But it’s quite obvious that DC will keep their faith in their first-choice opening pair of Warner and Shaw. If either of them picks up an injury, then Sarfraz and Marsh can come into contention.
