Reasons Behind Delhi Capitals Exit Before the IPL 2025 Playoffs
Delhi Capitals looked all set to qualify for the playoffs and were a tough contender for the IPL trophy in the first half of the season. Riding high on the back of continuous 4 consecutive victories, it felt it was impossible to sideline DC this year. Sadly, they fell out of contention after an unfortunate loss against MI in their previous game. DC has been eliminated and will again have to fight for the coveted prize next year. The current year had almost everything covered from the batting to the bowling, including their rightful backups. However, a few reasons led to their exclusion from the title race this year.
What went for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 Season?
Inconsistency of Stubbs and Ashutosh
After the initial dominance, DC’s middle order failed like anything. They just could not get going and let the management and the fans down. One of the major reasons behind DC’s forgotten campaign is the inconsistency of Stubbs and Ashutosh in the middle order. Stubbs and Ashutosh did well in a few of the games but failed to provide that consistently. Unfortunately, after the initial success in the first half, both of them clicked in the same match or even in the resumed IPL campaign. This added extra pressure on the already uncertain top order and pushed DC into continuous setbacks.
Slow and Sluggish Approach of KL
KL Rahul was believed to be in his redemption arc ever since the auction concluded. He took charge of the attack in the initial phase and played some match-winning cameos and innings. The fans hoped for a bigger and better season from KL Rahul after his sublime touch and adaptation to the new environment. Sadly, KL went back to his groove and repeated what he had been criticized for doing in the last 3-4 years. He failed to adapt to the evolving approach, and it cost his team significantly. KL had an opportunity to prove his critics wrong and lead the franchise to the playoffs. His failure in crucial games is also one of the major reasons behind DC’s unfortunate ending this season.
No Settled Top Order
When the tournament started, Delhi Capitals looked to have one of the best opening combinations. They had Faf, JFM, KL, and Porel to make the right combination to give a dominant start. Who knew that despite such talented players, DC would struggle with their opening combination? JFM looked completely clueless and out of form and failed to click in any of the matches, especially during the initial few games. He got the backing unless the Delhi Capitals started losing the games.
Faf was brought in as a replacement, and he did a decent job, to say the least. But it wasn’t sufficient for the franchise to have a strong, dominating top order, and it cost them big time. Eventually, Karun Nair was roped in for his groundbreaking performances in the domestic circuit. He clicked in a few matches and faded away at the same speed. DC’s inconsistent top order pressured the fragile middle order, costing them the playoff berth.
Off-Colour Pace Attack.
Delhi Capitals’ pacers failed to complement each other and could not create a massive impact in the tournament like the trio of their spinners Kuldeep-Axar-Vipraj, did. Starc was the leading wicket-taker as a pacer for DC with 14 wickets. He even went for a lot of runs and couldn’t control the flow. He failed to receive adequate support from either of the pacers in the setup, which further cost the team to book their berth for the playoffs. Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera had 11 and 4 wickets respectively, and they both also went very expensive. DC’s management will reflect on their pace battery once again and come up with a better plan next year.
Unavailability of Axar in an All-Important Match
Faf captained the team in place of Axar Patel against the Mumbai Indians in a must-win game. In that important match, Axar unfortunately had to sit out because of his health. Axar was a major miss in the match, as his inclusion could have given stability to the team in the middle order when needed. Axar has proved his worth before, and MI may have gotten tough competition because of that. His absence surely played a major role in bowling as well as batting.
These are the possible reasons that led to Delhi Capitals’ downfall in the second half. Delhi was able to win only 3 games in their last 10 encounters. The management will look into these issues and come up with a much better plan next season.
