IPL 2023: Lack of quality in pace attack could hurt Delhi Capitals

Hardik Pandya and David Warner

Delhi Capitals' Indian pace unit will have to punch above its weight against a formidable Gujarat Titans unit, which will start as overwhelming favourites in its first away match of the season, here on Tuesday.

The defending champions have all their bases covered despite Kane Williamson being ruled out of the tournament after a serious knee injury. The hosts are looking like an outfit that is bereft of a Plan B as it became apparent in their 50-run thrashing at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants. The primary worry is the composition of their Indian pace attack, which mildly put is below par when Anrich Nortje isn't there to spearhead them.

Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Kumar are sincere cricketers, but both lack the pace and variation required to trouble international quality batters consistently. They could well be lambs for slaughter against a Shubman Gill, who is in rampaging form or skipper Hardik Pandya, who would feast on friendly medium pacers day in and day out.

Also read: Gill sizzles as Gujarat Titans begin IPL title defence with five-wicket win over CSK

Khaleel Ahmed had a decent first game but his fielding has been an issue for years. In the batting department, DC skipper David Warner would like to see the Indian youngsters like Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan handle raw pace better than they did while encountering Mark Wood.

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