The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League is set to start in just a little more than a couple of weeks. This year’s edition will take place across 12 venues in India and will return to its original home-and-away format for the first time since the 2019 edition. The last three seasons of the IPL were either shifted to the UAE or played at some select venues in India due to COVID-19 and logistical reasons. But now that the fear of COVID-19 is long gone, the players will get a chance to play in front of their home crowd. This year’s edition will start on March 31, with the first match set to take place between the defending champion Gujarat Titans and the four-time champion Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
All 10 participating teams have kicked off their preparations for the IPL in some form or another. The Delhi Capitals side, which failed to qualify for the knockouts last year, will be without the services of captain and star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant this year. The 25-year-old met with an unfortunate road accident on December 30 of last year and has been ruled out for an indefinite period. His absence will be a big blow to Delhi, both as a player and as a captain.
Delhi Capitals took to Twitter on Thursday (March 17) to announce David Warner as team’s new captain in Pant’s absence. The 36-year-old, who joined the side in mega auctions last year, has prior experience leading a side in the IPL. He was the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad side that won the title in the 2016 season.
He is the joint-fifth most successful captain in IPL history in terms of matches won. He has led in a total of 69 matches so far and won 35 of them. He lost 32 games as captain and tied two matches. Delhi will open its campaign in IPL 2023 on Saturday (April 1) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow against the Lucknow Super Giants.
