IPL 2021: How a relaxed attitude could help Delhi Capitals sail through this IPL season

Last season's IPL runners-up Delhi Capitals are a team that boasts many great players who have proven themselves in all formats of the game. With veterans such as Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Woakes, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan and Ravichandran Ashwin in their squad, the combined experience of the team at the top circuit would be equivalent to many decades.

But another advantage the Delhi Capitals have over most others is that most of their key players have responded well after a fair share of criticism in recent years. Take the example of Prithvi Shaw. While his international performances have not justified his talent, he has also dealt with a doping ban which he was not entirely guilty of.

Prithvi didn't have a great IPL 2020 and his outings in Australia were far below impressive. But his extraordinary run from the Vijay Hazare Trophy that followed, has carried into this year's IPL.

The Delhi Capitals ranks have several similar examples. Rishabh Pant was nearly written off from the position of India's primary wicketkeeper by the end of 2020, but an unbelievable run since the start of 2021 has propelled him into a phase of unprecedented stardom.

The Delhi Capitals players have seen enough to avoid being intimidated by slight hiccups

One of the reasons India were able to cross the finish line in the 2011 50-over World Cup was that many of the players had fallen agonizingly short at the final hurdle in 2003. Players like Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag were part of both the Indian teams that played the finals of the 2003 and 2011 World Cup.

Delhi Capitals and Rishabh Pant got their IPL 2021 season off to the perfect start

While the current Delhi Capitals squad has many players who have seen the team miss the much-coveted trophy from up close, the list of players who have witnessed the lows of the game is quite a long one.

Steve Smith has been lambasted quite a lot ever since the sandpaper incident. Shikhar Dhawan's role in India's limited overs squads has been subject to intense debate with the emergence of KL Rahul. But Dhawan answered his critics with a stellar IPL 2020 and match-winning performances in the ODI series against England.

Other senior players such as Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma seem to have found peace years after their omission from India's limited overs squads. This change in attitude has been reflected in their body language and translated well into their game as well.

Most of Delhi's players know they can only do so much on the field and some things are beyond their control. This evolved attitude and maturity might be the added advantage Delhi Capitals might need to get over the line this time around.