If you had to choose the perennial underdogs of IPL, it has to be the Delhi Daredevils, as they were previously known. No team has struggled to find momentum as much as Delhi has, of late. It's not the case that they were short of good players, but they haven't been able to close out tight games and even when they do, its mostly a one off case. Consistency is what they have been lacking.
During the beginning years of IPL, they have had some of the all time greats playing for them. But they have only themselves to blame for letting them go. The likes of AB de Villiers, David Warner, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag cannot be released just like that. They did stick with Sehwag for a bit longer to be fair but the other 3 went on to play some extraordinary cricket for their respective teams. And those initial 3-4 years were the years when they had made some appearances in the knockout stages of the tournament.
After some constant chopping and changing, they seem to have settled their core consisting of Shreyas Iyer, Pant, Morris and Mishra. Alongside them, we will see Dhawan, Shaw, Ingram in the batting while their fast bowling attack is second to none with Boult and Rabada. They even have the X factor in Sandeep Lamichhane. So, again, it is not a case of dearth of talented players. It is just sustained momentum that they lack. Their chances of going all the way in this year's tournament look bleak even before the start. Although their batting is well covered with some solid Indian batsmen, their fast bowling will be hit quite strongly if and when Boult and Rabada leave. Also, they don't have someone with a lot of international experience, leaving Shikhar. Batting below number seven will also be a concern as they don't have a lot of bowlers who can handle the willow. Even with a strong fast bowling attack, they might find it hard to field both Rabada and Boult as they need a middle order batsman alongside Morris and Sandeep to fill out the four overseas spots. While their chances aren't handsome, one can never rule out any side in T20 format, as with some momentum in this format, you never really know !
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