Sourav Ganguly spoke to the press on the eve of the Delhi Capitals’ second game of the season against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, explaining the team’s decision to open with David Warner and Mitchell Marsh ahead of Prithvi Shaw.
Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket for the Delhi Capitals, stated why they decided not to open with Prithvi Shaw and instead give their opening combination an all-Australian flair in the early stages of the IPL 2024. Mitchell Marsh joined David Warner at the top of the order in the season opener against the Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. Many were startled by the decision not to play Prithvi Shaw, who had been retained in the side ahead of the mini-auction in December.
Australia’s opening batsmen in T20 Internationals, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, had an instant impact as Delhi Capitals blasted into a commanding lead against Punjab Kings on Saturday, scoring 39 runs in only 19 balls. Warner scored 21 balls with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes, while Marsh scored 20 off of 12 balls with 2 sixes and 2 boundaries. Despite a solid start, the Delhi Capitals found it difficult to gain momentum in the second half of the innings. However, Abishek Porel’s late blitz helped them score 174. The target was easily reached by Punjab Kings with four wickets and an equal number of deliveries remaining.
Prithvi Shaw is in the mix and can’t be played in the middle order, according to Sourav Ganguly, who emphasized that the Delhi Capitals are aiming to capitalize on the experience of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh at the top. Notably, following his strong performance in the just finished Ranji Trophy season, the Delhi Capitals started 27-year-old Andhra batsman Ricky Bhui at No. 4.
Prithvi Shaw starts things off. We chose to start with middle-order hitter Ricky Bhui, along with Marsh and Warner. They therefore bat in various positions. Thus, it’s definitely not Bhui. They opened for Australia, which is a different opening combination, and they have performed admirably together. Thus, on the eve of the Delhi Capitals’ second game against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, we made the decision to do that,” Sourav Ganguly informed the media.Ganguly further stated that the Delhi Capitals coaching staff did not have much opportunity to work with Prithvi Shaw during the off-season due to his injury layoff and commitments with Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24.
