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Once heralded as a prodigious talent, Prithvi Shaw‘s career trajectory took a downward turn after an injury setback. Following an underwhelming Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2023, where he only amassed 106 runs across eight innings at an average of 13.25, Delhi Capitals (DC) made the decision to drop him this year in favour of promoting the promising domestic batter Ricky Bhui.
Delhi Capitals’ struggles in the IPL 2024
Shaw found himself sidelined for the initial two matches by the Delhi’s management, who favoured Bhui, citing his stellar performance in domestic cricket. However, Bhui’s bat failed to ignite in both encounters, tallying mere scores of 3 and 0 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) correspondingly. Consequently, Delhi endured losses in both fixtures, compounding their early struggles in the ongoing 17th edition of the IPL.
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Criticism from Tom Moody regarding Prithvi Shaw’s omission
Speaking to the ESPNcricinfo, Tom Moody recently voiced his frustration, openly questioning the decision-making of the Delhi, asserting that their choices lacked logical coherence.
“It doesn’t make sense due to the fact that you’ve got an Indian international player (Prithvi Shaw) in the dugout. Yes, he hasn’t performed in the IPL like we had all hoped he would, but you can’t score runs from the dugout,” Moody said.
Similarly, Wasim Jaffer expressed his bewilderment, emphasizing the futility of retaining Shaw prior to the auction only to sideline him during the matches, thereby failing to utilize his potential effectively within the starting XI.
“Now that they have held onto him and not let him go into the auction, I’m surprised they’re not playing him. He’s played for Mumbai for most of the season, so you’d imagine that he’s fit. I’m surprised. Punishing him and then losing the games is not the way to go forward,” Jaffer said.
Sourav Ganguly’s defense of DC’s decision
Nevertheless, prior to the Rajasthan match, Delhi’s team director Sourav Ganguly came forward to defend their decision, offering reasoning for dropping Shaw. He stressed their commitment to bolstering the destructive opening partnership of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. Ganguly further clarified that the choice of Bhui was independent of Shaw’s omission, noting Bhui’s role as a middle-order batter compared to Shaw’s position as an opener, thus rationalizing Shaw’s absence from the team.
“Prithvi Shaw is an opener. We decided to open with Marsh and Warner and Ricky Bhui is a middle-order batter. So they bat at different positions. So it’s actually not Bhui for sure. It’s a different opening combination, they opened for Australia and they have done well together. So we decided to do that,” Ganguly said.
