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Cricket Players'It's been 13 games since Shaw scored a fifty': Ponting launches no-holds-barred attack on out-of-form DC opener
Ricky Ponting didn't shy away from mentioning the reasons behind dropping Prithvi Shaw from the XI during the side's game against SRH earlier this week.
The Delhi Capitals have endured a poor season so far, as they reel at the bottom of the table with only two wins in seven matches. Their batting has been a major concern this year and it doesn't help the side that one of their most explosive batters – Prithvi Shaw – is going through a horrendous patch. In six matches, Shaw has scored only 47 runs and was dropped from the XI during DC's last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier this week.
And while his replacement in the role – Phil Salt – couldn't really step up to the occasion against the Sunrisers, head coach Ricky Ponting's comments suggest that Shaw could be forced to sidelines for a longer duration. The former Australian captain didn't mince his words as he criticised Shaw's poor batting performances in the 2023 season so far.
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"I think it's 13 games (considering IPL 2022 as well) since Prithvi has made a 50 opening the batting for the Delhi Capitals. There are a lot of other players at the top of the order with other teams that are playing a whole lot better than Prithvi," Ponting told the media ahead of the side's reverse fixture against SRH.
"Prithvi at his absolute best… we know he's a match winner. That's one of the reasons that he's a retained player because we know if he bats a certain amount of balls, we win about 95% of the games," Ponting said. “But so far this season, he hasn't been able to produce,” he further added.
Ponting stated in a matter-of-fact manner that the side doesn't need Shaw in the XI right now, as he mentioned his stats in this season.
“I think the six games that he played was just over 40-odd runs, so that's not what we require right now. So is it a tough decision to leave him out but hopefully the team that we put on the park tomorrow can go win another game for us,” said the head coach.
