3 great players who failed badly as Delhi Capitals captain

Delhi Capitals (DC) have reportedly elected David Warner as their new captain ahead of the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Delhi-based franchise had to make the big decision after their regular skipper Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the tournament due to a fatal car crash in December last year.

Warner is a former IPL-winning captain. He led the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) to their first-ever championship in 2016. The DC team owners will hope that Warner leads their side to their maiden title as well.

Despite being a part of every IPL season played so far, Delhi Capitals (formerly known as Delhi Daredevils) have never won the trophy. They made it to the final in 2020 but lost to Mumbai Indians.

Over the years, some of the greatest names in world cricket have played for this franchise, and a few of them even got an opportunity to lead the squad.

A majority of the players had a forgettable time as the Delhi Capitals skipper though. Only three out of 12 men who have captained DC have a win percentage of more than 50. Virender Sehwag, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant are the three names.

Notably, David Warner captained Delhi in two matches of the 2013 season and lost both of them. Like Warner, a few other great players failed as Delhi Capitals' captain as well. Here's a list of three such names.

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#1 Kevin Pietersen - Won 1 out of 11 matches as Delhi Capitals captain

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen became the skipper of the Delhi franchise in 2014. He captained the team in 11 matches, where the team registered one win and 10 losses. Their only victory came against the Mumbai Indians during the UAE leg of the competition.

Pietersen had a forgettable season as he missed three matches due to injuries. Dinesh Karthik led the side in those three games, where Delhi registered one victory.

Unsurprisingly, Delhi ended last in the points table with only four points from 14 matches. Neither Pietersen nor Karthik played for the franchise again.

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#2 James Hopes - Won 0 out of 3 matches as Delhi Capitals captain

Former Australian all-rounder James Hopes was appointed as the new skipper of Delhi in the final phase of the 2011 season. Delhi finished last in that season as well, with four wins in 14 matches.

Virender Sehwag captained Delhi in their first 11 matches, but suffered an injury before the 12th game against Chennai Super Kings. The team management appointed Hopes as the new skipper. However, the Aussie all-rounder could not lead the team to a single win in their remaining matches.

Delhi lost their battles against CSK and Punjab Kings, while their match against Pune Warriors was abandoned.

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#3 Mahela Jayawardene - Won 4 out of 16 matches as Delhi Capitals captain

Mahela Jayawardene was among the best captains in the world during his playing days, but his stint with Delhi was not so memorable. The franchise appointed him as their vice-captain in 2012. In the absence of regular captain Sehwag, Jayawardene led the team in a couple of matches that season.

In 2013, he was appointed the full-time skipper of Delhi. The former Sri Lankan cricketer led Delhi in 16 matches across two seasons, where they managed only four wins. Delhi lost 11 games, whereas one ended with no result.