3 DC players who are not in form heading into IPL 2025 ft. Jake Fraser-McGurk

The Delhi Capitals (DC) assembled a stellar squad for IPL 2025. The team owners brought their 'A' game to the table and roped in some big names like KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, and Karun Nair to join the already retained core group of Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Kuldeep Yadav, and Abishek Porel.

On paper, DC have one of the strongest squads in IPL 2025. They seem to have all the bases covered. Plus, the arrival of Hemang Badani in the coaching group should benefit the Delhi-based franchise.

While the team looks great, some players in the current DC squad have struggled with form in recent matches. Here's a list of three such players.

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#1 Jake Fraser-McGurk is not in form ahead of IPL 2025

The Delhi Capitals raised many eyebrows when they retained Australia's hard-hitting opener Jake Fraser-McGurk for ₹9 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Jake has played in only one IPL season before. He scored 330 runs in nine games, and his strike rate was more than 200, which would have prompted DC to stop him from going into the auction pool.

The decision may hurt DC because Jake has struggled for runs in recent matches. He has only one half-century in his last 10 matches across formats. Jake got out in single digits in six of those 10 games.

These are alarming signs for the DC team management. With KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis available in the squad, the Delhi Capitals backroom staff might bench Jake even though he had been retained for ₹9 crore.

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#2 Tristan Stubbs

Another overseas player retained by DC ahead of IPL 2025 to feature on the list is South African batter Tristan Stubbs. The rising star had a memorable IPL 2024 season with DC, but his recent performances have not been that impressive.

Stubbs has not scored a half-century in his last ten matches. His highest score was 43, which came for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape against the Paarl Royals in an SA20 match played on February 1.

Considering that DC retained Stubbs in their squad, they will likely give him a place in the starting XI. It will be interesting to see if Stubbs can get back to form in IPL 2025.

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#3 Vipraj Nigam

Uncapped leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam is a talented player from Uttar Pradesh. The Delhi Capitals signed him for ₹50 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega auction. The 20-year-old bowler has enormous potential, but his recent numbers have not been that good.

In his last domestic match for Uttar Pradesh against Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Nigam returned with figures of 0/64 in four overs. The youngster has accounted for nine wickets in his last 10 games across formats.

The opportunity to work with the likes of Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao should have a positive impact on Vipraj's career. Expect the 20-year-old leg-spinner to return to form soon once he gets game time in IPL.