AI-predicted IPL 2025 squad for DC ft. Phil Salt, Arshdeep Singh
Delhi Capitals (DC) are among the IPL franchises yet to win the elusive title. They failed to make it to the playoffs last year but came close, finishing sixth with seven wins and 14 points.
The Delhi Capitals made a massive release ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, letting go of their skipper Rishabh Pant. Instead, they retained all-rounder Axar Patel, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, batter Tristan Stubbs, and wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel.
Given their retentions, the Delhi Capitals will have to rebuild their side ahead of the upcoming season. They not only need a new opening pair but also a solid middle order. The Capitals will need some solid all-rounders to balance the squad as well. While they have two key spinners, they will have to work on their pace bowling department at the auction.
Ahead of the all-important IPL 2025 auction, Meta AI predicted its own Delhi Capitals squad for the upcoming season. Here is the AI-predicted squad for DC.
Top order - Abhishek Porel, Phil Salt, Finn Allen, and Daryl Mitchell
Abhishek Porel was among the four retentions made by Delhi Capitals ahead of the auction. According to Meta AI, Delhi will bring in Phil Salt, who can open the innings. Salt had a brilliant IPL 2024 season and has also been in great form.
Meta AI predicted that Delhi will also acquire Kiwi opener Finn Allen, who is known for his hard-hitting at the top. As per the AI tool, another Kiwi in Daryl Mitchell will also move to DC, giving them enough opening options at the top.
Middle order - Tristan Stubbs, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson, Himanshu Rana
Delhi Capitals retained Tristan Stubbs, who impressed in IPL 2024, scoring 378 runs at a whopping strike rate of 190.90. Meta AI suggests that they will bring their former skipper Shreyas Iyer back into the side.
Shreyas will be a perfect fit in the middle order and also a captaincy choice as he successfully led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory last season. The AI tool also predicted that Nitish Rana would be a part of the DC squad, providing another solid batting option in the middle order.
Additionally, the tool also predicted that wicket-keeper batter Sheldon Jackson and Haryana batter Himanshu Rana will join Delhi Capitals for the 2025 season.
All-rounders - Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Lalit Yadav, and Michael Bracewell
The Capitals chose all-rounder Axar Patel as their first retention and he will be a key part of the side in IPL 2025.
As per Meta AI, the franchise will invest in spin-bowling all-rounders, buying Krunal Pandya and Lalit Yadav. Krunal can be a handy option in the lower middle order with the bat as well. Lalit played for Delhi last season as well but did not get many opportunities.
The AI tool has predicted the inclusion of yet another Kiwi in the side - Michael Bracewell - who can bring balance to the side with his all-round skills. He is also an option to bowl with the new ball in the powerplay.
Bowlers - Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Gus Atkinson, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Kartik Tyagi, Siddharth Kaul, Shivam Mavi, and Saurabh Kumar
Kuldeep Yadav, retained by the Delhi Capitals, is expected to be the lead spinner of the team. Saurabh Kumar is another left-arm spinner who will join the team according to Meta AI.
While they will have decent spin bowling options, Meta AI has also predicted that the Capitals will form a pace-heavy bowling unit. The AI tool has suggested that big names such as Mitchell Starc and Arshdeep Singh will join the squad. Starc played a key role in KKR's victory last IPL while Arshdeep was also among the top wicket-takers.
Additionally, Meta AI has predicted that they will add more foreign firepower to their fast bowling unit with Gus Atkinson and Marco Jansen, who can be valuable options to bowl in the powerplay and death overs.
Further, the AI tool has also predicted that the Capitals will build a potent Indian pace bowling attack with the likes of Yash Thakur, Kartik Tyagi, Siddharth Kaul, and Shivam Mavi joining Arshdeep in the squad for IPL 2025.