It has not been an ideal season for Delhi Capitals thus far as after playing seven matches they are currently placed at the bottom of the points table. Under the leadership of new captain David Warner, the Capitals have won just two matches out of seven. Half of the season is done, but the franchise has yet not found the right combinations and still making chopping and changing their line-up almost every game. For instance, they backed promising young star Prithvi Shaw for seven matches and dropped him from the team in their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. They have failed to put up a collective effort on the field and it’s the batting which has been the biggest disappointment for them.
Apart from Warner and Proteas paceman Anrich Nortje, the other two overseas options have not been able to make a substantial contribution to the side. Capitals used Mitchell Marsh and Rilee Rossouw at the start of the season, but they dropped the latter after a couple of poor performances, while the former took a break and returned to Australia for his marriage and missed two matches. Marsh was back in the XI right after rejoining the squad. In the meantime, they used a couple of options at the fourth overseas slot after dropping Rossouw as Phillip Salt, Rovman Powel and Mustafizur Rahman got chances but they are still in dilemma after the trio’s below-par performances.
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Looking at the batting numbers Warner’s strike rate doesn’t look suitable for the T20 format but one can’t complain much about it at the same time as he hasn’t got support from the other end to get going. Meanwhile, Nortje has also not got much support from the other overseas pacers when it comes to taking wickets.
Ahead of the DC’s home tie against Sunrisers Hyderabad, head coach Ricky Ponting addressed the press conference where he admitted that they have not found the right balance with the overseas players yet.
“Well, all those guys have played as well. Rilee Rossouw played at the start of the tournament. Rovman Powell played a couple of games at the start. I think, to be honest, it’s been as much of us trying to find the right balance with our overseas players as anything,” Ponting replied to News18 CricketNext query.
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While backing Marsh, Ponting said that he is crucial for the team for his all-round abilities as the Aussie gave him the cushion of having 6 bowlers in a side which has almost become a necessity in the shortest format of the game.
“Mitchell Marsh is an all-rounder. He’s been able to bowl 2-3-4 over some games for us. If you take him out of the side and put someone else there, all of a sudden you might go into a game with only five bowlers, which you don’t really want. It’s always nice to have the cushion of six bowlers there sometimes you need them,” he said.
When asked whether the overseas batters have struggled to get used to the Indian pitches, Ponting suggested that it has not been the case. He pointed out the conditions in which Powell bats in the Caribbean and Marsh’s incredible form against India in the ODI right before the IPL.
“I don’t think it’s the pitches. Like these guys, Rovman in particular, from the Caribbean plays on slow, low-spinning wickets all the time. Mitchell Marsh is an experienced international player that just before this tournament had success in India in all big in ODIs. I think it’s the way that it’s worked out for us so far,” he asserted.
Ponting admitted that there is a chink in their armour when it comes to underperforming overseas players and said that they are going to have a chat regarding it and hopefully bounce back against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“We’re gonna sit down in a minute as a batting group and have a bit of a chat about where we’re at and that’s the way that we prepare, the way that we’re training and certainly why is it not transferring into better performances on the field. So we’re going to talk about that now and then go away and work on some different things and hopefully, you’ll see a better batting effort on Saturday,” he added.
The legendary Australia skipper said that all batters have to put collective effort on the field from here on in the tournament and start taking responsibility to take the team over the line.
“I’m not talking about one or two players, I’m talking about from one to seven or eight being able to contribute right down the list. When it’s their turn, they need to stand up and get the job done for the team and we haven’t been able to do that so far. But as I keep saying to the boys, if we keep working hard, this game can change really quickly and keep putting in the work, the luck will change and all of a sudden these guys that you’re talking about will be scoring big runs for us,” he concluded.
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