Prior to the 2025 Indian Premier League, Mitchell Starc’s presence has been identified by former India player Aakash Chopra as one of the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) advantages. He noted that the Australian seamer usually performs at his peak during the final stages of a competition.
During the IPL 2025 auction, Starc was acquired by DC for a price of ₹11.75 crore. The Kolkata Knight Riders seamer played 13 matches during IPL 2024 and secured 17 wickets with a 26.11 average while providing three wickets for 34 runs and two wickets for 14 runs in Qualifier 1 and the final games.
‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India opener, called Starc an X-factor in the Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 lineup in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“Mitchell Starc is an X-factor. He raises his game when it comes to winning the tournament. He showed that by doing it in the playoffs last year. The likes of Mukesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Darshan Nalkande are also there, but they are betting heavily on Mitchell Starc.”
Aakash Chopra
As another of DC’s advantages going into the 2025 Indian Premier League, Chopra selected the spin-bowling combination of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
“I like this team’s spin bowling a lot. Captain Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, they are an eight-over bank, and they are actually bankable players. Both pick up wickets and keep it tight as well. They also bowl in different stages of the game.”
Aakash Chopra
In 11 IPL 2024 innings, Kuldeep Yadav claimed 16 wickets at an economy rate of 8.69. In 14 innings during the previous season, Axar Patel claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.65.
Aakash Chopra Highlights DC’s Perfect Batting Blend Ahead of IPL 2025
Aakash Chopra mentioned in the same video that the Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 team features hitters who can take several tacks.
“They have a healthy mix of caution and aggression in the batting order. You will get Faf du Plessis opening with Jake Fraser-McGurk. He will surely play since he is the vice-captain now and Harry Brook is also not there. However, it means you might find KL Rahul at No. 3 and Abishek Porel may or may not be seen.”
Aakash Chopra
The former cricket player who is now a broadcaster emphasized that if Jake Fraser-McGurk gets going, he can completely destroy the opposition’s attack.
“Karun Nair might get a chance due to this. Tristan Stubbs was one of the finest finishers last year. Ashutosh Sharma was one of the finest finishers last year. Sameer Rizvi might also get a chance. Jake Fraser-McGurk, if he gets going, you know what he does. There is a lot of variety as they have both attacking and defensive players.”
Aakash Chopra
According to Aakash Chopra, Axar Patel may bat a little higher in the Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 lineup. Since the team would otherwise have a full right-handed hitting lineup if Abishek Porel isn’t in the starting lineup, he noted that it would enable them to have a left-right combination in the middle.
