"Can send Shardul Thakur up the order" - Virender Sehwag's suggestion for DC
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has suggested that Delhi Capitals (DC) should promote Shardul Thakur up the batting order. He reckons that the bowling all-rounder hasn't done much damage with the ball, so the side can try and use his batting to their advantage.
Sehwag made the remarks while speaking on Cricbuzz ahead of the Delhi-based side's upcoming clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He opined that while openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner have been exceptional so far, the other DC batters have not shown consistency.
He feels that it will be important for David Warner and Prithvi Shaw to contribute significantly at the top of the order. He urged the duo to bat for longer periods and win games for their side.
Sehwag said:
"I am more concerned about DC's batting than their bowling. Shaw and Warner have been scoring runs and it is important for them to bat for a long period of time. They will have to stay there for 15-16 overs for DC to gain an advantage over their opposition. If that doesn't happen, someone from the middle order will have to take responsibility. You can send Shardul Thakur up the order. He hasn't been doing much with the ball and could maybe come up with useful contributions with the bat."
It is worth mentioning that sides like Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have promoted their bowling all-rounders higher up the batting order in IPL 2022. While CSK have used Mitchell Santner at No.3, RR have promoted Ravichandran Ashwin in the batting order.
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"He hasn't done anything substantial after all these games" - Virender Sehwag on DC's Rovman Powell
The former cricketer reckoned that West Indian all-rounder Rovman Powell is yet to make an impact in the tournament. He believes this could be a point of concern for DC as they don't have players who can finish games.
Sehwag highlighted that skipper Rishabh Pant has been getting good starts, but has failed to convert them into big scores. The likes of Marcus Stoimis and Shimron Hetmyer used to play as finishers last year but no batter has stepped up and taken responsibility this time around, as per Sehwag.
He added:
"Rovman Powell hasn't done anything substantial after all these games. Rishabh Pant too, he hasn't had a great season so far. He has been batting well in patches but hasn't been able to score big runs. They had Stoinis and Hetmyer last year to finish matches for them, so Pant's knocks of 30-40 runs did look good on the scorecard back then. But now there's nobody down the order to finish."
Kicking off our 2nd half of #IPL2022 on a colourful note 🌈
Special threads being donned by our DC boys tonight in #DCvKKR 🤩
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DC and KKR are scheduled to lock horns on Thursday (April 28) in the 41st match of the season. The two star-studded sides will battle it out at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.