Their clash against SRH was abandoned last night due to rain.
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shane Watson has criticised the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) approach to shake up their batting lineup against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (2025).
‘Something as simple as randomly changing the opening combination, for no apparent reason, was just not needed. I was genuinely surprised,” he said to Star Sports.
The Australian player felt that it was absolutely unnecessary to swap the batting positions of opener Abhishek Porel and No. 3 batter Karun Nair. Both of them have put up 265 runs in 11 matches and 154 runs in seven matches, respectively, by playing in their usual positions so far.
“I nearly fell off my chair when I saw Karun Nair walk out to open with Faf du Plessis. That move made no sense,” opined the former CSK player.
He also mentioned how these experiments by the franchises affect the players’ minds. It confuses them about their role in the team.
“Whatever the thinking was in the Delhi Capitals’ camp, I think they got that one completely wrong. When you start chopping and changing positions like that, it suggests there’s no clarity in roles. Even if players aren’t consciously overthinking, decisions like this can make them second-guess what’s going on,” said Watson.
ALSO READ:
DC batters portrayed an extremely poor show against SRH last night. Except for KL Rahul (10 off 14), all the top five batters in DC’s lineup were dismissed for a single-digit score. This also included a golden duck of Karun Nair, whom the management sent to open the innings instead of coming in at his regular position of No. 3.
A rescue act from Tristan Stubbs (41 runs off 36 balls) and Ashutosh Sharma (41 runs off 26 balls) helped DC reach 133/7 after 20 overs. All-rounder Vipraj Nigam also contributed a 17-ball-18 in the total. Unfortunately, the contest was abandoned due to rain without a ball bowled in the second innings. Both teams earned one point each.
With last night’s washout against SRH, DC currently has 13 points in 11 matches. They will need at least two wins out of their remaining three matches to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs.
Considering their recent form in the league, the upcoming matches are going to be very challenging for Axar Patel and Co. After starting off the cash-rich league with four back-to-back victories, they lost their momentum to lose four out of the next six.
Before squaring off against the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, DC will next take on the second-placed Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on May 8.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
