"You've got to make a tough call on certain players" - Tom Moody in favor of DC dropping Prithvi Shaw for the remainder of IPL 2023

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody has advised the Delhi Capitals (DC) to drop Prithvi Shaw and revisit their overseas combination in order to get the franchise's campaign back on track.

Shaw has had a season to forget. The youngster has registered two ducks in five innings and has a high score of 15 in IPL 2023. Shaw's poor form has coincided with Delhi's disastrous run, with DC losing all five of their matches so far.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo's Timeout, Moody opined that the Capitals must not persist with Shaw as they must come to terms with reality ahead of their remaining games. He explained:

"You've got to make a tough call on certain players that aren't showing any light at the end of the tunnel. And on the evidence of what we've seen so far with Prithvi Shaw, it may well be that IPL 2023 may not be his year where he has the impact that we all hoped that he was going to have.

"It can just be, 'oh, we'll give him a couple more games and see what happens'. Those couple of games go, your chances as a franchise have gone."

Moody backed his compatriot Mitchell Marsh to open the innings for Delhi. The all-rounder yielded rich returns as an opener in the ODI series in India in March. Moody reckons that opening with Marsh should also help DC skipper David Warner. He elaborated:

"He's done that before recently and he's done it successfully. He's naturally an enforcer so that would complement Warner. It would help him as well. You've got a left-right combination, you've got a 6ft4in and a 5ft8in batter, which is difficult to bowl to."

While Warner is amongst the top run-getters in IPL 2023, his strike rate has been uncharacteristically poor. The southpaw has mustered 228 runs in five games at a sub-par strike rate of 116.92. Marsh has also endured a difficult season so far, with scores of 0, four, and 0.

"I'd always want to keep a left-right combination in the top four" - Tom Moody

Moody also feels South African batter Rilee Rossouw should return to the playing XI and bat at No. 3 or 4. The Australian reasoned:

"At No. 3 and 4, I'd have Rilee Rossouw and Manish Pandey both padded up. I'd always want to keep a left-right combination in the top four. If Marsh gets out, Pandey goes in, and vice versa. That would be my lock for the top four."

Warner and Co. will next face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at home later tonight (April 20).