Delhi Capitals picked 28-year-old allrounder Sumit Kumar for their opening match of the 2024 IPL against Punjab Kings today (March 23). Here’s all you need to know about the newest Delhi Capitals debutant.

Sumit came out to bat at No.8 in Mohali, and scored two off nine balls as DC collapsed from a strong position. A blistering 10-ball 32-run cameo from Abishek Porel at the end of the innings saw them post 174-9 batting first. Despite his lowkey start, Sumit’s journey from domestic cricket to IPL debut is remarkable for its consistency.

Sumit was bought by Delhi in the 2024 auction, where they out-bid Kolkata Knight Riders and paid 1 crore for the all-rounder’s services, way more than his base price of 20 lakh. After debuting for Haryana in List A cricket in 2019, he made his first-class debut shortly after and became a regular name on the team sheet.

He averages 38.33 from 16 first-class games with the bat, and has taken 26 wickets at an impressive average of 15.96. He was named player of the tournament in in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy, after taking 18 wickets at an economy rate of 4.15. His performance in the final, where he took 3-47 with the ball and played important cameo innings of 28 off 16, earned him the player of the match award.

In T20 cricket, Sumit has been Haryana’s leading wicket-taker since his debut in February 2019. He’s taken 43 wickets at an economy of 7.37 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in that time. While his stats speak for themselves in terms of consistency, the impact Sumit can have with both bat and ball will be what caught the Delhi Capitals selectors’ eye.

Bowling right arm pace, he uses both in-swing and out-swing effectively. With the bat, he has a T20 strike rate of 134.74, and can play impactful innings down the order. He was only dismissed once in the seven innings he played in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy, and scored 183 runs across the tournament, striking at 155.08.

He could be a key player for Delhi Capitals across the 2024 IPL.

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