IPL 2023: Shane Watson defends struggling Prithvi Shaw
Players like him do not just fall out of a tree, says Delhi assistant coach
Bengaluru: Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Shane Watson came in defence of Prithvi Shaw for his poor run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that a “player like Prithvi does not just fall out of a tree.”
In Saturday’s match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Shaw came in as an impact player and was run-out for a duck in the first over by a spectacular direct-hit from RCB’s impact player Anuj Rawat.
The DC opener punched one to extra cover where Rawat dived to his right, got up instantly and scored a direct hit at the non-striker’s end as Shaw was found short.
The 23-year-old has a terrible run of form in the 2023 IPL as he has scored 34 runs from five innings with a highest score of 15.
Impact player
“Prithvi came off after sitting for 20 overs until the impact player rules came in. Otherwise, he would be out there running around ready to take off and run that a little bit faster. Prithvi is as skilled as any other better in India. And everyone has seen that from the time he made his Test debut. The biggest thing for him is just to be able to allow himself to access the skills with no fear of making a mistake or getting out,” Watson said in a post-match press conference.
“He can take down the best bowlers in the world and in all conditions. A player like Prithvi does not just fall out of a tree,” he added.
Not just Shaw, the entire Delhi-based franchise is struggling this season as they are still awaiting their first win of the season.
Virat Kohli sparkled with the bat with a breezy 50 off 34 balls to help RCB post a competitive 174/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak then impressed on debut with a brilliant spell of 3/20 as a collective bowling and a fine fielding effort saw them restrict DC to 151/9 and hand them their fifth loss in five matches on Saturday.
Speaking on match results, Watson said that the team’s biggest issue is losing wickets in the powerplay as they are not executing well enough with the bat.
Losing wickets
“Unfortunately, we were not able to put together good batting innings. Our biggest issue at this point in time is losing wickets in the first six overs and then consistently losing wickets. We were not able to put a partnership together and get some momentum especially on a ground like Chinnaswamy, if you can set a platform here you can score a lot of runs in the last 10 overs
We just are not executing well enough with the bat to be able to get through with the best bowlers with a brand-new ball. We are working with individuals … and right now just the way they are executing is not going as per the plan. They are not getting through the first 10-15 balls to be able to set a platform for their own innings,” Watson said.
In search of their first win of the season, the Capitals will host Kolkata Knight Riders in their next fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.