IPL 2019: 3 Batsmen that Delhi Daredevils should target at the auction
A highly-promising squad filled with exciting, young talent led by the dynamic and consistent captain in Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevils looked all set to take IPL 2018 by storm and finally get their hands on an IPL trophy.
But what looked great on paper, could not be executed and implemented to the tee, as Gautam Gambhir failed and so did his teammates, to stitch together wins as DD ended at the bottom of the standings at the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League.
While the Delhi Daredevils (DD) has managed a strong top-order batting with the likes of the recently traded in Shikhar Dhawan, and the retained - Prithvi Shaw, Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer, and Manjot Kalra as possible options for the opening and the first down batsmen. It's the middle order which looks weak with the release of Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Jason Roy, and Abhishek Sharma.
With just Rishabh Pant the only specialist middle-order batsman in the side, the DD needs to shore up their lineup with more batsmen at the upcoming, December 18 auctions.
Here are some options for the middle-order batsmen,
#3 Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell was let go by the Daredevils before the upcoming auctions, then why should they bid for the man again?
This is similar to the Jaydev Unadkat-RR story, the team likes the player, he fits the bill but not at the price that he was bought for by the team at the previous auction. Maxwell was bought for ₹9 crore by the Daredevils at the 2018 auctions, but his performance of 169 runs in 12 innings at a sub-standard average of 14.08 made him one of the most overpriced players in the DD squad. This coupled with the fact that Cricket Australia would be calling its players back for camp before World Cup 2019, and hence they would be missing the May part of IPL is also another cause of concern.
Maxwell's performance, except the IPL stint, has been great this year with 591 runs in 16 innings at a terrific average of 53.72 and a swashbuckling strike rate of 157.60.
A handy right-arm off-break bowler, he is known to provide the crucial breakthroughs for his team when needed, and also a livewire on the field Maxwell would get you wickets one way or the other.