Delhi Capitals: History, Squad, Staff, Captains

About Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals, formerly Delhi Daredevils, have often fallen short despite early promise. They lost in the semi-finals during their first two IPL seasons and made playoffs in 2012 and 2019, but only reached their first final in 2020, where they lost to Mumbai Indians. In 2021, they topped the league but failed again in playoffs. They struggled with last-place finishes in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018.

The rebrand to Delhi Capitals in late 2018 seemed to lift their fortunes. They reached the playoffs in 2019, made the final in 2020 with a mostly young squad, and again made playoffs in 2021. After a poor 2023 season finishing ninth, they rebounded to mid-table in 2025 under new captain Axar Patel.

Still, some past choices haunt them. They chose not to invest in Virat Kohli in 2008, relying on stars like Sehwag and Gambhir instead. Gambhir was released after 2010 and went on to win IPL titles with Kolkata. Other players like AB de Villiers, Andre Russell, Trent Boult, Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada, and Avesh Khan also left and flourished elsewhere.

Delhi’s best years came in 2012 and 2021, boasting strong batting and bowling performances, including Sehwag’s 495 runs in 2012 and Avesh Khan’s 24 wickets in 2021. But from 2013 to 2018, their form was weak, often finishing near the bottom. They repeated that struggle with another low finish in 2023.

Information
Founded	2008 (Rebranded from Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Owners	JSW Group & GMR Group (50% stake each)
Full Name	Delhi Capitals
Nick Name	DC, The Capitals
Theme Song	Roar Macha
Home Ground	Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Official Website	https://www.delhicapitals.in/

DC Coaching & Support Staff

Role	Coach / Staff
Director of Cricket	Venugopal Rao
Head Coach	Hemang Badani
Assistant Coach	Ian Bell
Assistant Coach	Matthew Mott
Fast Bowling Coach	Munaf Patel
Fielding Coach	John Mooney
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Vivek Ramakrishna
Physiotherapist	Patrick Farhart
Team Manager	Siddharth Bhasin
Performance Analyst	Sriram Somayajula

Delhi Capitals Squad 2026

Position	Players
Captain	Axar Patel
Batters	Abishek Porel, Nitish Rana, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Pathum Nissanka, Ben Duckett, David Miller, Prithvi Shaw, Sahil Parakh
All-rounders	Ajay Mandal, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Dar
Bowlers	Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Tripurana Vijay, Kyle Jamieson, Lungisani Ngidi

Delhi Capitals Home Ground

Feature	Short Details
Official Name	Arun Jaitley Stadium
Former Name	Feroz Shah Kotla Ground
Location	Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi, India
Home Team	Delhi Capitals (DC), Delhi Cricket Team, Indian National Cricket Team
Establishment	1883. It is the second-oldest international cricket stadium still functional in India.
Seating Capacity	Approximately 35,200
Ends	Stadium End, Pavilion End
Pitch Characteristics	Historically known for being a slow pitch that keeps low, making it very favourable for spinners.
DC’s Home Advantage	The slow and turning nature of the pitch often suits DC’s team composition, particularly their strong spin-bowling attack.
Boundary Dimensions	The boundaries are relatively short, with both straight and square boundaries typically ranging from 60 to 65 meters.
IPL Record (Highest)	266/7 – Scored by Sunrisers Hyderabad against Delhi Capitals in 2024.
Notable Feature	Several stands and gates are named after legendary Delhi cricketers, including the Virat Kohli Pavilion, Virender Sehwag Gate, and Bishan Singh Bedi Stand.
Historic Milestone	Famously the venue where Anil Kumble took all 10 wickets in a single Test innings against Pakistan in 1999. It is also where Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th Test century to equal Don Bradman’s record.
Other Significance	Located next to the historic Feroz Shah Kotla fortress, the stadium is a blend of ancient history and modern cricketing passion in the heart of India’s capital.

List of DC Captains 2008 to 2025

Captains	Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	W/L	%W	%L
Axar Patel	2024-2025	13	5	6	1	0.83	38.46	46.15
Faf Du Plessis	2025-2025	2	1	1	0	1.00	50.00	50.00
Rishabh Pant	2021-2024	43	23	19	1	1.21	53.48	44.18
David Warner	2013-2023	16	5	11	0	0.45	31.25	68.75
Shreyas Iyer	2018-2020	41	21	18	2	1.16	51.21	43.90
Gautam Gambhir	2009-2018	25	12	13	0	0.92	48.00	52.00
Zaheer Khan	2016-2017	23	10	13	0	0.76	43.47	56.52
Karun Nair	2017-2017	3	2	1	0	2.00	66.66	33.33
Jean-Paul Duminy	2015-2016	16	6	9	0	0.66	37.50	56.25
Kevin Pietersen	2014-2014	11	1	10	0	0.10	9.09	90.90
Dinesh Karthik	2010-2014	6	2	4	0	0.50	33.33	66.66
Mahela Jayawardene	2012-2013	18	6	11	1	0.54	33.33	61.11
Virender Sehwag	2008-2012	52	28	24	0	1.16	53.84	46.15
Ross Taylor	2012-2012	2	0	1	0	–	–	50.00
James Redfern Hopes	2011-2011	3	0	2	0	–	–	66.66

Delhi Capitals Performance over the years

Year	Result	Top Batsman	Runs	Top Bowler	Wickets	Win %
2025	5th	KL Rahul	589	Kuldeep Yadav	26	60.00
2024	6th	Rishabh Pant	446	Kuldeep Yadav	18	50.00
2023	9th	David Warner	516	Mitchell Marsh	12	35.71
2022	5th	David Warner	432	Kuldeep Yadav	21	50
2021	3rd	Shikhar Dhawan	587	Avesh Khan	24	62.5
2020	2nd	Shikhar Dhawan	618	Kagiso Rabada	30	52.94
2019	3rd	Shikhar Dhawan	521	Kagiso Rabada	25	62.50
2018	8th	Rishabh Pant	684	Trent Boult	18	35.71
2017	6th	Sanju Samson	386	Pat Cummins	15	42.85
2016	6th	Quinton de Kock	454	Chris Morris	13	50.00
2015	7th	JP Duminy	414	Imran Tahir	15	35.71
2014	8th	JP Duminy	410	Imran Tahir	9	14.28
2013	9th	David Warner	410	Umesh Yadav	16	18.75
2012	3rd	Virender Sehwag	495	Morne Morkel	25	68.75
2011	10th	Virender Sehwag	424	Morne Morkel	13	28.57
2010	5th	Virender Sehwag	356	Amit Mishra	17	50.00
2009	3rd	AB de Villiers	465	Ashish Nehra	19	71.42

                                               

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