In the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the playoff system was introduced in 2011, only three times has a team failed to qualify for the final despite finishing in the top two. Two of those occurrences have seen Delhi Capitals (DC) miss out on a spot in the summit clash. In both 2012 and 2021, they finished the league stage as table-toppers but failed to qualify for the title-decider despite having two opportunities.

The disappointment in 2012 happened under Virender Sehwag’s captaincy. DC (then Delhi Daredevils) lost the first qualifier to Kolkata Knight Riders. In their second chance, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) thrashed them by 86 runs. Nothing went right for the Delhi-based franchise on that day at the Chepauk Stadium as Murli Vijay scored a century for the defending champions.

While DC failed to fire with both bat and ball, it was their team selection that raised eyebrows as star pacer Morne Morkel was left out of the playing XI. What was even more surprising was that uncapped spinner Sunny Gupta came into the playing XI despite not playing a single game throughout the season. In fact, it was the off-spinner’s debut in the league.

Delhi’s defeat only raised questions about the selection and Sehwag has finally broken his silence on the decision explaining they wanted an off-spinner because CSK had three left-handers. “There used to be this off-spinner in our team named Sunny (Gupta). I decided to play him straight away in the playoffs against Chennai Super Kings because I thought they had three left-handed batters, and I will bowl him against left-handers,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.