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4 Players Delhi should never have let go in the previous seasons

Delhi would rue the loss of AB De Villiers, considering the success the South African batsman had with RCB
Delhi would rue the loss of AB De Villiers, considering the success the South African batsman had with RCB

The best players don't win you tournaments, the best team does. This can aptly be seen from the performance of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL over the years, who have retained a majority of their players through the course of time, managing to keep the core of the team constant and in the process, allowing a strong understanding among the players within the side.

The 12th season of the Indian Premier League will get underway in 2019, the auctions for which is likely to begin in a weeks' time. Among the eight regular teams to have played all the seasons (barring CSK and RR for two seasons), Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, is one team which showed a lot of promises initially but failed to deliver the goods when it mattered, succumbing to the grind of franchise-based cricket.

That fact that they have never reached the finals in all these years strongly indicates something amiss among the Delhi franchise. In the initial five years since the inception of the T20 league, Delhi side showed inspiring performances, finishing thrice in top four from 2007-2012. 

The initial core of the members included quality cricketers and had a good mix of national and international players in the side. However, the owners somehow showed a little impatience, and let go off a bulk of good recruits, ultimately resulting in a huge dip in performance since 2013.

Here we take a look at four players which the Delhi side let go, a decision impacting the core balance of the side, ultimately leading to a miserable 10 years in the league. 


1. AB De Villiers

The former South African captain started off his IPL journey with the Delhi Daredevils, having a forgetful first season, wherein he managed a mere 95 runs in six games for the Delhi franchise. In the second edition held in his home country, the South African magician came into his own, scoring heavily for his side with a total of 465 runs at a whopping average in excess of 50. 

He even was one of the two centurions in the 2009 season, sharing the honors with Bangalore's Manish Pandey. Despite having a decent run with the team, de Villiers was not retained by the Delhi franchise, with the owners letting him go to Bangalore for a prize of US$ 1.5 Million. 

Ever since his transfer to Bangalore, de Villiers has played inspiring knocks for the southern franchise, managing a minimum of 300 runs in seven out of the eight seasons with three of those in excess of 400. De Villiers' ability to start the innings in fifth gear and play sensibly when needed, was something that Delhi lacked over the years.

They might not accept it, but losing out on the maverick South African batsman, Delhi possibly dug a hole for themselves.

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