Can Lungi Ngidi Lead Delhi Capitals to IPL 2023 Victory?

Updated: 02-03-2023, 02.50 PM

Delhi Capitals is one of the most consistent Indian Premier League teams but has never won the championship in all 14 seasons. In the last edition of the tournament, the team finished fifth with 7 wins and 14 points. The franchise understands that they need to secure some of the best cricketers during the auction to improve their chances of winning. DC successfully signed some of the most skillful cricketers this year, including Lungisani True-man Ngidi or Lungi Ngidi.

Introducing Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi is a South African cricketer who has been playing for the South African National team since 2017. He is a right-handed fast steam bowler from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has been playing professionally since 2015 with the Northerns (2015-present) and Titans team (2016-2021) in his country. Aside from Delhi Capitals, he also played for Chennai Super Kings from 2018 to 2021 for his IPL run.

CSK played a significant role in building Ngidi’s confidence on the field. In a recent interview, he expressed his gratitude towards CSK, especially his team captain, MS Dhoni. According to him, Dhoni’s trust in his skills boosted his confidence. “Having someone of Dhoni’s caliber put his trust in me to win him games when I was 22 was massive for me.

“The IPL also taught me how to handle a big crowd. I’d never played in front of 60,000 people, and that was a bit overwhelming at the start. But once you get going, it’s a breeze,” Ngidi explained. Delhi Capitals purchased Ngidi for 50 Lakh in 2022. Let’s take a look at Ngidi’s bowling stats since he started playing in the IPL in 2018:

Ngidi’s IPL Bowling Stats

Matches played: 14
Wickets: 19
Average: 16.73
Economy rate: 7.95

The Rest of the Delhi Capitals Lineup

Whether Ngidi will play a significant role in helping Delhi Capitals win their first championship depends on who will be playing alongside him. This year, cricket fans are looking forward to seeing how the team will perform, and the 10CRIC IPL is just around the corner. It has been pointed out that DC’s batting unit needs improvement, and Ngidi is one of the solutions for that.

Other players who make Delhi Capitals’ batting lineup a lot solid are Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed, and Chetan Sakariya. The spin bowling department also has skillful players like Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Lalit Yadav. The team now has better backup options with the likes of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Manish Pandey. Some are worried that Ngidi might be benched again throughout the season, but he is part of the predicted Playing XI for this edition.