IPL 2015: Delhi Daredevils' predicted XI

Delhi Daredevils, which represents the country’s most populous city, has been a prominent force in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the exception of last season. After being relegated to the bottom of the table in IPL 2014 with just two wins in 14 matches, DD have rejigged their squad to put up a better show in the upcoming season.The GMR-owned IPL franchise will be captained by South African all-rounder JP Duminy, who was one of their few shining lights last season. They purchased Yuvraj Singh for a record sum of Rs 16 crore to boost their line-up. Apart from Yuvraj, the franchise bought 13 other players, including the likes of Angelo Mathews and Zaheer Khan.The Daredevils, despite reaching two semi-finals (2008 and 2009) and the qualifiers once (2012) in seven editions, haven’t made it to the finals to have a sight at the coveted IPL trophy ever. The new season, however, brings new hopes as DD will look to put last season’s disappointment behind.Here is Delhi Daredevils’ predicted XI for the upcoming IPL season:

#1 Quinton de Kock

This young South African wicketkeeper-batsman was first snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 after impressing one and all during the 2012 Champions League T20 held in his home country of South Africa. He subsequently moved to the Delhi Daredevils for the 2014 season. 

De Kock can be explosive with the bat and has already scored six hundreds for South Africa in ODIs. He also holds a T20I strike rate of close to 120. He should slot into the Daredevils side as an opener just like he did last season. He hasn’t made a mark with any memorable innings so far in the IPL, but he is one of the foreign players who will carry huge expectations as he will also be doubling up as a gloveman for the team.