The Delhi
Capitals (DC) looked on course to win their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title
last year when they took on Chennai Super Kings in the second Qualifier fixture.
And although they were comprehensively outclassed by MS Dhoni and his charges
on the night, and twice before in the season, the newly-branded franchise will
count 2019 as a successful year.

An
extensive restructuring since the ‘Delhi Daredevils’ days saw DC make waves in
their opening fixture against Mumbai Indians as a young, rejuvenated squad,
ably led by Shreyas Iyer, capped a brilliant, 37-run win over the eventual
champions.

Although the
Capitals lost three of the next four games, their batting unit, boasting the
like of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and skipper Iyer, fired the
team to six wins from seven matches to put playoff qualification beyond doubt and
an eventual third-place finish, their best since 2012.

Having retained
most of their core group for the upcoming IPL 2020, the Capitals have added
further depth to their middle-order batting and brought in veteran Ravichandran
Ashwin to help ease the pressure off their spearhead Kagiso Rabada.

Here is a
look at five new arrivals/unestablished players that might prove to be decisive
in the Capitals’ chase for a maiden IPL crown.

Ravichandran Ashwin

There is little that needs to be said about India’s Test legend Ravichandran
Ashwin. With 365 wickets in 5-day cricket, Ashwin has proved to be just as prolific
a wicket-taker in the shortest format, amassing 125 wickets over his at a
miserly economy rate of 6.79 over his IPL career.

The ‘Carrom
Ball’ pioneer initially made a name for himself in the IPL, bursting onto the
scene with CSK as he thrived under MS Dhoni’s leadership and became a core
member of the trophy-laden team that won back-to-back IPL titles and a
Champions Trophy towards the beginning of last decade.

After a
sports hernia injury in 2017 followed by two underwhelming years captaining
Kings XI Punjab, Ashwin will be looking at this season as the perfect
opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the best in the business.

Without the
responsibilities of a captain, Ashwin can once again focus solely on his
bowling and lead an already-potent spin attack, boasting the likes Amit Mishra,
Axar Patel and Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, to help Delhi Capitals to
their first IPL title.     

Shimron Hetmeyer

The Guyana-born
batsman announced himself on the world stage by captaining the West Indies to
an Under-19 World Cup win over India in 2016. Renowned for his
boundary-clearing ability, the southpaw came to prominence at the senior level during
West Indies’ tour of India in 2018, when he smashed 107, and 94 in back-to-back
ODI innings to give the tourists a fighting chance in the series.

However,
his 259 runs from five innings at an astonishing strike rate of 140 could not
help West Indies avoid a 3-1 loss. 

More
recently, his exploits in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League, where he is the
second top scorer, have helped the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a second placed
finish in the points table and a semi-final appearance (needs to be updated). 

The
23-year-old fits perfectly into the Delhi Capitals’ youth model and will be
looking to live up to his hype as Chris Gayle’s heir apparent with an
impressive showing at the top of the order.  

Delhi
parted with Rs 7.75 crores to secure Hetmeyer’s services in the player auction
last December and will be hoping his addition to the squad can help improve on
an impressive 2019 season.

Alex Carey

Alex Carey has
been a prolific run-scorer in the Big Bash League (BBL) with the Adelaide
Strikers, scoring 1,163 runs in 35 innings at a strike rate of 129.22. He played
a pivotal role in their title winning campaign in 17-18, scoring an impressive
443 runs in 11 innings, including wo fifties and a hundred.

The
Australian wicketkeeper-batsman can also help provide cover for the occasionally-erratic
glovework of Rishabh Pant and will also add depth to a middle order that had a
glaring need for improvement last term.

His Rs 2.40
crore price-tag may yet prove to be a bargain if the southpaw can perform in
his debut IPL season like he has in the BBL. He will be eager to work with head
coach Ricky Ponting and help the Capitals to their first IPL crown.  

Marcus Stoinis

Another
area that the Delhi Capitals found themselves short on ammunition last season
was the all-rounder department and Marcus Stoinis has been identified as the
player to address those issues.

The Delhi
Capitals splurged Rs 4.8 crores on the Western Australian limited-overs
specialist and will be hoping he can improve on his disappointing few seasons
with the Kings XI Punjab and the Royal Challengers Bangalore and produce the
kind of three-dimensional cricket that has made him an indispensable asset for
Australia.

Sandeep Lamichhane

Sandeep
Lamichhane became the first player from his country to play in the IPL when he
was bought by then-Delhi Daredevils in 2018 as a teenager and was retained for
a third season running after promising displays in the following campaigns.

Former
Australian captain Michael Clarke helped him find his feet in the domestic
circuits in Australia after spotting him in Hong Kong in 2016.

Lamichhane was
soon signed up by the Melbourne Stars of the Big Bash League, where he made
quite the impression as he picked up 26 wickets in a total of 20 matches for
the. He was particularly impressive in the 19-20 season, where he managed 15
wickets in 13 games.

A key cog
in Nepal’s run to the 2018 ICC World Cup qualifiers, Lamichhane has also had
decent stints in other global leagues, including the Caribbean Premier League,
Pakistan Super League and the Bangladesh Premier League.  

Together
with experienced international spinners like Ashwin and Mishra in the world’s
biggest league tournament, Lamichhane will look to further hone his skills and
make his breakthrough as one of the brightest young talents in the world during
the IPL 2020 season.