Delhi Premier League T20 on its journey to revive Delhi cricket?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a major influence in world cricket. The franchise-based tournament brought in big investments into the game and provided opportunities for the young and upcoming talents to showcase their skills against the best in the world. This tournament was pivotal to the start of franchise-based T20 competitions in other countries like the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. 

However, the sphere of influence infected the Indian state associations too as they have started introducing their own franchise T20 competitions, providing local talents with a spotlight to present their skills and hope for a call-up to the national team or a contract from an IPL franchise. Almost every state has its own T20 competition, such as TNPL in Tamil Nadu, Maharaja Trophy in Karnataka, APL in Andhra Pradesh, Bengal Pro T20 in West Bengal, and many others. 

Adding to this list is the newly formed Delhi Premier League T20 (DPL) under the supervision of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), which will bring in the best of Delhi cricket in a franchise-based T20 competition. A total of six teams will participate across 33 games between August 17 and September 8. A women’s version of the tournament will simultaneously happen, with four teams playing a total of seven games. The iconic Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi will host all the games. Virender Sehwag will promote the tournament as its brand ambassador. 

Teams

Purani Dilli 6

As the name suggests, Purani Dilli will be representing the region of the original Delhi, the Old Delhi. Like how old things or old people possess longevity and experience, this team has two big names, Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma. There are a couple of state players in Lalit Yadav and Shivam Sharma, who have the experience of playing in IPL.

Squad:

Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Arpit Rana, Shivam Sharma, Prince Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Mayank Gusain, Sanat Sangwan, Ankit Bhadana, Yug Gupta, Keshav Dalal, Ayush Singh, Kush Nagpal, Sumit Chhikara, Arnav Bugga, Vansh Bedi, Manjeet, Yash Bhardawaj, Sambhav Sharma, Laxman

North Delhi Strikers

The North Delhi Strikers are a collection of young talents, with Harshit Rana and Suyash Sharma leading the pack. Kshitiz Sharma and Vaibhav Kandpal have represented Delhi. Many new faces will be expected to make a name for themselves by stepping up and performing for this team.

Squad: 

Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Pranshu Vijayran, Vaibhav Kandpal, Kshitiz Sharma, Vaibhav Rawal, Yash Dabas, Pranav Rajvanshi, Manan Bhardwaj, Yash Bhatia, Yatish Singh, Aman Bharti, Yajas Sharma, Sarthak Ranjan, Anirudh Choudhary, Shivam, Yatharth Singh, Sidhhartha Solanki, Dhruv Chauhan, Yuvraj Rathi

Central Delhi Kings

Central Delhi Kings will have the services of the state team captain, Yash Dhull, at the helm of affairs. He has had a relatively successful run as a captain, having led India to a U-19 championship win in 2022 and a runner-up finish in the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup. He has the likes of Jonty Sidhu, Sumit Kumar, and Lakshay Thareja, who, with experience of representing Delhi, will be senior players in the side.

Squad: 

Yash Dhull, Prince Choudhary, Hiten Dalal, Jonty Sidhu, Lakshay Thareja, Yogesh Sharma, Money Grewar, Keshav Dabas, Shaurya Malik, Saurav Dagar, Aryan Rana, Siddhant Bansal, Rajneesh Dadar, Sumit Kumar, Kaushal Suman, Deepesh Balyan, Vishant Bhati, Dhruv Kaushik, Ajay Gulia

East Delhi Riders

East Delhi Riders, like North Delhi, is filled with young blood. Anuj Rawat and Simarjeet Singh are the faces of the side. They have a few notable emerging talents, including all-rounder Mayank Rawat, who led the state side in the U-23 competition, and other talented players, Himmat Singh, Himanshu Chauhan, and Raunak Waghela.

Squad:

Anuj Rawat, Simarjeet Singh, Himmat Singh, Himanshu Chauhan, Harsh Tyagi, Vaibhav Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Samarth Seth, Pranav Pant, Sujal Singh, Hardik Sharma, Raunak Waghela, Agrim Sharma, Shantanu Yadav, Bhagwan Singh, Ansh Choudhary, Sagar Khatri, Shivam Kumar Tripathi, Rishabh Rana, Lakshaya Sangwan

South Delhi Superstars

Ayush Badoni is going to be a key player for the South Delhi team. The right-handed batter will bat in the top order and lead the side. There are a good set of U-23 and U-19 players in Priyansh Arya, Sumit Mathur, Saurabh Deswal, and others. Kuldip Yadav, the left-arm pacer who played for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, will be leading the bowling attack along with the U-19 talent Lakshay Sehrawat.

Squad:

Ayush Badoni, Kuldip Yadav, Priyansh Arya, Sumit Mathur, Divij Mehra, Kunwar Bidhuri, Digvesh Rathi, Tejaswi Dahiya, Raghav Singh, Saurabh Deswal, Sarthak Ray, Lakshay Sehrawat, Tarun Bisht, Shubham Dubey, Vision Panchal, Dhruv Singh, Mayank Gupta, Anshuman Hooda, Anindo Naharay, Deepanshu Gulia

West Delhi Lions

West Delhi Lions could be dark horses in the inaugural edition of the DPL as they come into the tournament with some not-so-known names headlining the side. Navdeep Saini and Hrithik Shokeen, who have IPL experience, will hold a key role in the team’s performance, specifically in bowling. The batting department has some relatively unknown players, and their ability to score in crunch situations may well decide the Lions' fortunes.

Squad:

Hrithik Shokeen, Navdeep Saini, Dev Lakra, Deepak Punia, Shivank Vashisth, Akhil Chaudhary, Ayush Doseja, Krish Yadav, Anmol Sharma, Yugal Saini, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Vivek Yadav, Aryan Dalal, Masab Alam, Ekansh Dobal, Shivam Gupta, Yogesh Kumar, Suryakant Chauhan, Tishant Dabla, Ibrahim Ahmad Masoodi

Venue Record

Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

Matches – 161

Bat 1st won – 73 | Bat 2nd won – 87

Toss win bat – 66 | Toss win bowl – 95

Avg 1st inns score – 159/6

Avg 1st inns winning score – 178/5

Where can we watch Delhi Premier League 2024?

The inaugural edition of DPL will be streamed live on Jio Cinema.

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