Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that Anrich Nortje and Ishant Sharma are available for selection ahead of their upcoming match against 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals (RR). With Pant making his much-awaited return to competitive cricket, DC squared off against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener last week. In a match where Pant overcame jitters to make his comeback after a horrific car crash, DC opted to bench opener Prithvi Shaw.
Veteran David Warner opened the innings with superstar Mitchell Marsh in match No.2 of the IPL 2024 between DC and PBKS at Chandigarh. While Warner scored 29 off 21 balls, Marsh was dismissed for 20 off 12 deliveries. Shai Hope’s gritty 33-run knock and batting blitz from Abishek Porel (32 off 10 balls) lifted DC to 174-9 in 20 overs. However, DC failed to stop Punjab from completing the run chase as Pant and Co. lost their tournament opener by four wickets. As DC are up against RR in their fixture, it will be interesting to see whether Shaw makes his return to the Delhi playing XI.
‘We decided to open with Marsh and Warner…’
Speaking to reporters ahead of DC’s match against PBKS, Ganguly explained why Delhi went without Shaw in their IPL 2024 opener. “Prithvi Shaw is an opener. We decided to open with Marsh and Warner and Ricky Bhui is a middle-order batter. So they bat at different positions. So it’s actually not Bhui for sure. It’s a different opening combination, they opened for Australia and they have done well together. So we decided to do that,” Ganguly said.
‘We did not get much of Prithvi Shaw in the camp’
Shaw had a nightmare IPL last season as the DC opener scored 106 runs in eight matches. The Mumbai batter averaged only 13.25 at IPL 2023. Shaw was still retained by Delhi Capitals for the new season of the cash-rich league. The Delhi Capitals batter warmed up for IPL 2024 in the Ranji Trophy, where he scored 451 runs. “To be honest, we did not get much of Prithvi Shaw in the camp. Unfortunately, he was injured for a long time. After he went to England for the county stint in Northamptonshire where he played exceptionally well and tore his ligament in the knee, we couldn’t get him till February. After he came back to fitness, he played Ranji Trophy,” Ganguly added.
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