‘He‘s not an impactful player in that position’: Gambhir explains why he would pick Shaw over Rahane in DC Playing XI against SRH

In last six games he has played for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League 2020, Prithvi Shaw has been dismissed thrice for a duck. He has scored figures of 7,9 and 10 in the remaining three games. This is a testament to how poor Shaw has been in the recent days. The right-handed batsman has struggled to get going, and is really finding it hard to spend time in the middle. (IPL 2020 Full Coverage)

On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane, too, has been dismissed twice for a duck in last six games, but scored a match-winning 60 against Royal Challengers Bangalore last week. So, the question is who should DC play in the do-or-die game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

IPL 2020 Playoffs, DC vs SRH Live Score

In an pre-match analysis video chat on ESPNCricinfo, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir was asked to name his playing XI for DC for the match, and he picked Shaw in the team and left out Rahane. On being asked about the reasons for the same, Gambhir explained that Rahane is not an impactful player at no. 3 position.

“I want an impact player on top, especially in a must-win game. I know Prithvi Shaw has not been in good form, but even Ajinkya Rahane is not in supreme form as of now,” he said.

“Plus, if you make Rahane bat at no. 3, he is not an impactful player in that position. You can make Rahane open the innings but if I have to choose a player to open the innings between Rahane and Shaw - and look at the bowling line-up, I will go with Shaw and give him one more chance. If he bats for 6 overs, I am sure I will get the start I need,” Gambhir further said.

DC and SRH will battle it out in the 2nd Qualifier on Sunday and the winner between the two will face Mumbai Indians in the final on Tuesday.