Delhi Capitals facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Delhi Capitals

League	Indian Premier League
Personnel
Captain	Axar Patel
Coach	Hemang Badani
Chairman	Kiran Kumar Grandhi
Owner	JSW Sports GMR Sports
Manager	Siddharth Bhasin
Team information
City	New Delhi, India
Colours
Founded	2008; 17 years ago (2008)
Home ground	Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi
Capacity	35,200
Secondary home ground(s)	ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Secondary ground capacity	27,500
Regular kit Diversity tribute kit
Image:Cricket current event.svg 2025 Delhi Capitals season

The Delhi Capitals, also known as DC, are a professional T20 cricket team. They are based in Delhi, India. The team plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The owners are GMR Group and JSW Sports. Their main home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The team's captain is Axar Patel, and Hemang Badani is the coach. In 2020, they played in their first IPL final.

Team History

How the Team Started

The IPL is a cricket league created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The first tournament was in 2008. Eight teams from different Indian cities joined. The Delhi team was bought by GMR Group for US$84 million.

In 2018, GMR sold half of the team to JSW Sports. JSW Sports also owns other sports teams.

Name Change to Delhi Capitals

In December 2018, the team changed its name. It went from the Delhi Daredevils to the Delhi Capitals. Co-owner Parth Jindal explained the change. He said Delhi is the "power centre" and "capital" of the country. Co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi added that the new name shows Delhi's identity.

Team Performance Over the Years

Early IPL Seasons (2008-2011)

In the first IPL in 2008, the Delhi Daredevils started strong. They won their first two matches. They finished in the top four teams. However, they lost in the semi-final to the Rajasthan Royals.

In 2009, the Daredevils were very strong. They finished at the top of the league table. Players like Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag scored many runs. AB de Villiers also hit a century. Despite their great regular season, they lost in the semi-final. This meant they did not play in the final.

The 2010 season saw the team finish fifth. In 2011, they finished last.

Comeback and Challenges (2012-2018)

The Delhi Daredevils made a strong comeback in 2012. They bought new players like Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene. They finished first in the league table. They qualified for the playoffs.

However, 2013 was a tough year. The team lost their first six matches. They finished last in the league. Even with new coaches and mentors like Sir Vivian Richards, they struggled.

The team continued to have difficult seasons from 2014 to 2018. They often finished at the bottom or near the bottom of the league table. In 2014, they won only two out of fourteen matches. In 2015, they finished seventh. In 2016 and 2017, they finished sixth. In 2018, they finished last again. During this time, Ricky Ponting became the new coach.

Delhi Capitals Era (2019-Present)

After changing their name to Delhi Capitals, the team's luck improved.

2019 IPL Season

The Delhi Capitals brought in new players like Shikhar Dhawan. They also had strong players like captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. They made it to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. They won their first playoff match. They finished as second runners-up, which was their best result ever at that time.

2020 IPL Season

The 2020 season was very successful for the Delhi Capitals. They started by winning seven of their first nine games. They reached the IPL final for the first time in their history. They played against the Mumbai Indians but lost the final match. This was still their most successful season. All games that year were played in the United Arab Emirates.

2021 IPL Season

In 2021, the season was held in India. Steve Smith became captain after Shreyas Iyer was injured. The Delhi Capitals were at the top of the points table. They had won six out of eight matches. However, the season was stopped because of health concerns. The remaining matches were later played in the United Arab Emirates. The team made it to the playoffs.

Recent Seasons (2022-2025)

In 2022, the team finished fifth. In 2023, David Warner became captain after Rishabh Pant was injured. The team finished ninth. In 2024, they finished sixth. For the 2025 season, Axar Patel is the captain. The team finished fifth in the league stage.

Home Grounds

The Delhi Capitals play their home matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. They also use the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam as a second home ground.

Team Songs

The team has had several anthems over the years:

• "Khelo Front Foot Pe" (Play on the front foot) by Kailash Kher.
• "Munday Dilli Ke" (The Lads from Delhi) released in 2012.
• "Dhuandaar Dilli" in 2016, sung by Sukhwinder Singh.
• "Dil Dilli hai, ab Dhadkega" in 2018.
• "Roar Machaa" for the Delhi Capitals in 2019, sung by Amit Trivedi.

Team Kit and Sponsors

The team has had different kit manufacturers and sponsors over the years. Companies like Adidas, Hero Honda, Daikin, and JSW have sponsored their jerseys. Currently, Puma is the kit manufacturer and DP World is the main shirt sponsor.

Key Players

Many famous international players have played for Delhi. These include Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, David Warner, and Kevin Pietersen. Indian players like Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant have also been important.

Team Captains

The Delhi team has had many captains. Some notable ones include Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. Currently, Axar Patel is the captain.

Player	Nationality	From	To	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	Win%	Best Result
Sehwag, VirenderVirender Sehwag	India	2008	2012	52	28	24	0	0	53.84	SF (2008, 2009)
Gambhir, GautamGautam Gambhir	India	2009	2018	25	12	13	0	0	48	5/8 (2010)
Karthik, DineshDinesh Karthik	India	2009	2018	6	2	4	0	0	33.33	Stand-In
Hopes, JamesJames Hopes	Australia	2009	2011	3	0	2	0	1	0	Stand-In
Jayawardene, MahelaMahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	2012	2013	18	6	11	1	0	33.33	Playoffs (2012)
Taylor, RossRoss Taylor	New Zealand	2012	2012	2	0	1	0	1	0	Stand-In
Warner, DavidDavid Warner	Australia	2013	2023	16	5	11	0	0	31.25	9/10 (2023)
Pietersen, KevinKevin Pietersen	England	2014	2014	11	1	10	0	0	9.09	9/10 (2023)
Duminy, JPJP Duminy	South Africa	2015	2016	16	6	9	0	1	37.5	7/8 (2015)
Khan, ZaheerZaheer Khan	India	2016	2017	23	10	13	0	0	43.47	6/8 (2016, 2017)
Nair, KarunKarun Nair	India	2016	2017	3	2	1	0	0	66.6	Stand-In
Iyer, ShreyasShreyas Iyer	India	2018	2020	41	23	18	0	0	56.09	Runners-up (2020)
Pant, RishabhRishabh Pant	India	2021	2024	43	23	20	0	0	53.48	Playoffs (2021)
Patel, AxarAxar Patel	India	2024	2025	13	6	6	0	1	46.15	League Stage (2025)
Plessis, Faf duFaf du Plessis	South Africa	2025	2025	1	0	1	0	0	00.00	Stand-in

Team Management

The Delhi Capitals have a team of people who help manage and coach the players. This includes the team manager, director of cricket, head coach, and other coaches for batting, bowling, and fielding.

Overall Performance Summary

The Delhi Capitals (and formerly Delhi Daredevils) have played many matches in the IPL. Their success rate has varied over the years. They have reached the semi-finals or playoffs several times. Their best result was reaching the final in 2020.

Other Teams in the Capitals Family

The owners of Delhi Capitals also own other sports teams. These include:

• Delhi Capitals (WPL) (women's cricket team)
• Dubai Capitals
• Pretoria Capitals
• India Capitals