Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC), has acknowledged that it was not an easy choice to bench Prithvi Shaw, the team’s struggling opener.
He nevertheless supported the decision, arguing that many other Indian Premier League (IPL) teams’ openers are outperforming the young batter.
In six innings of action for DC in the current IPL, Shaw has scored just 47 points and appears to be completely out of sync. Delhi also attempted to use him as an “Impact Player,” but that tactic failed.
DC ultimately made the decision to bench the right-handed batter for the away game on Monday, April 24 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
On April 29, they will face the same opponent at home. Ponting discussed the Shaw situation and clarified the following during a pre-game press conference.
“I believe it has been 13 games (including the IPL 2022) since Prithvi scored 50 openings the batting for the Delhi Capitals. Prithvi isn’t playing nearly as well as many other players at the top of the order who are on different teams. “Prithvi is a match-winner when he is at his absolute best,”
“We know if he bats a certain number of balls we will win about 95% of the games, so that’s one of the reasons he was kept on. He hasn’t been able to produce, though, so far this season. That’s not what we need right now, as I believe he only played six games and totaled just over 40 runs.”
“Dropping him out is a big decision, but hopefully the team we announce tomorrow can go on to win a crucial game for us. ”
The legendary Australian batsman continued by saying that “when Shaw signed with DC prior to the IPL 2023, he thought the 23-year-old might have a big year given how he was batting in the nets and how fit he was.”
Ponting made the following comment:
“This year, he had been at the NCA for quite a few weeks, working really hard on his fitness. He has been in good physical shape, and his work ethic, training, and everything in the nets hinted to me that this should just be that big year for him. However, that hasn’t happened yet. ”
There is still a long way to go, as Ponting expressed hope for Shaw’s comeback. DC shifted England’s Phil Salt to the top of the order after Shaw’s failure, but that hasn’t been as successful. Ponting fessed up:
“We needed to try and find a little bit of a spark at the top of the order, and Phil Salt moved up there the last game, but that didn’t quite work as well. ”
In the event Shaw receives another opportunity later in the competition, the DC coach expressed confidence that Shaw will make the most of his chances.
Ponting concluded his remarks on the Mumbai batter by saying:
“There’s a long way to go, but if our current top order doesn’t work out, there’s no reason he couldn’t return to the team and hopefully have a strong tournament finale. ”
With two victories and five defeats, Delhi Capitals are in 10th place in the IPL 2023 points standings.