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Prithvi Shaw, the Delhi Capitals opener, wasn’t picked in the playing XI for their first Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Punjab Kings. Sourav Ganguly, the Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals, addressed the matter to the press, stating that Prithvi Shaw didn’t play because they preferred the established Australian opening pair of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
Delhi Capitals retained the services of Prithvi Shaw for the IPL 2024 season, despite his tough outing at the top of the order for the team last year. In his eight appearances, the 24-year-old only scored 104 runs at a poor average of 13.25, which included a fifty, in the 2023 edition of the tournament.
In the build-up to the Rajasthan Royals versus Delhi Capitals clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Sourav Ganguly commented on Prithvi Shaw’s omission from their playing XI against Punjab Kings. He said to the press, “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.”
Notably, Prithvi Shaw wasn’t even picked on the Impact Substitutes bench by the DC team management against PBKS in their IPL 2024 opener.
Sourav Ganguly also talked about the availability issues with Prithvi Shaw joining the IPL pre-season camp of Delhi Capitals due to his injury and Ranji Trophy commitments. He remarked, “To be honest, we did not get much of Prithvi Shaw in the camp. Unfortunately, he was injured for a long time.”
“After he went to England for the county stint in Northamptonshire where he played exceptionally well and tore his ligament in the knee, we couldn't get him till February. After he came back to fitness, he played Ranji Trophy,” the Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals added.