Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals will meet in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 9. In this article, I take a look at the best possible eleven the hosts can put together for what promises to be an exciting clash.

DC’s list of foreign (non-Indian) players is as follows: Kumar Sangakkara, Daniel Christian, Chris Lynn, Kevin Pietersen, Rusty Theron, Jean-Paul Duminy, Michael Lumb, Dale Steyn and Cameron White.

Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn make the squad, and were it not for their absence due to injury, so would Pietersen. My other two players abroad are Duminy and White, who score above the rest, due to the weight of experience. Both players bring comprehensive skills to the table and, more importantly, provide their team with additional spin options.

The remaining seven players shall be selected from the following: Anand Rajan, Akash Bhandari, Shikhar Dhawan, Manpreet Gony, Ishank Jaggi, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Shah, Sunny Sohal, Arjun Yadav, Ashish Reddy, Ankit Sharma, Bharat Chipli, Kedar Devdhar, Harmeet Singh, Ishan Malhotra, Pragyan Ojha, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, and Ishant Sharma.

At first glance, Shikhar Dhawan, Manpreet Gony, Pragyan Ojha and Ishant Sharma are the names that stand out on this list. Casting the other three is a tall order, not because of a shortage of talent, but because of the sheer number of unknown names, combined with a dearth of all-rounders on the DC team. Due to this last reason, I am forced to ignore Amit Mishra’s claims, as the eight players already selected have three pure bowlers, in Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha. They are supported by Duminy, White and Gony, as additional bowling options. In Pietersen’s absence, the team has only two pure batsmen in Sangakkara and Dhawan. So I’d like to beef up hitting, while giving the team halftime bowling options.

My final options, after analyzing the career averages of the remaining players, are Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Ishank Jaggi and Ankit Sharma. Teja can swing a little and throw a little while Jaggi is a pure hitter. Both have had previous stints in the IPL and that experience should work in their favor. Ankit Sharma should be considered a surprise pick. He convinced me with his 58-plus average in 10 first-class games, without a century. That points to a level of consistency that’s pretty rare for such a young player: southpaw Sharma isn’t even 20 yet. Sharma can also throw slow orthodox stuff with his left arm and has been among the wickets in first-class, A-list and T20 games. I like it. Importantly, his economy rate in T20 games is below 8.

How would you rate this team? From what I can see, DC has invested more in their selection of foreign players, who are a good mix of hitters, bowlers, and all-rounders. The few big-name Indians are all bowlers, and that could be an obstacle to the team’s title aspirations this season.