"It has been one of our biggest holes this season" - Shane Watson on DC dropping Prithvi Shaw

Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Shane Watson has agreed that the horrific form of Prithvi Shaw was one of the main reasons why Delhi find themselves out of the IPL 2023 playoff race already.

Shaw scored just 47 runs in first six games of the IPL 2023 season and was dropped from the team for the next six games. He made an excellent comeback with a fine half-century against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), but unfortunately it won't be enough to keep Delhi's hopes alive for qualification.

Speaking on 'The Grade Cricketer' podcast, here's what Shane Watson had to say about Prithvi Shaw's season:

"Prithvi, when he is on song, is simply brilliant be it in spinning conditions or on true batting wickets. But it has been one of our biggest holes this season, him not being able to get going.

"Unfortunately, dropping was the only thing that could help him align things as to where he wants to go and we saw that in the last game. That's one of the best innings I have seen Prithvi played. Hopefully, he does well in the next game against CSK."

Shane Watson also opened up on why the DC batting as a whole didn't quite click in the slow and turning conditions at home at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He said:

"We just weren't able to make the most of the conditions in Delhi the way our batting is set up. We did show in the last game up in Dharamshala that we have some world-class batters and could do well on true cricket wickets. The outcome hasn't been great, but there have been many learnings from my as well as players' perspective."

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Shane Watson on Atharva Taide retiring out

Shane Watson wasn't impressed with the decision of PBKS to retire out Atharva Taide during their game against DC. Watson felt that a set batter like Taide could have made more damage with the bat rather than a new batter.

On this, he stated:

"It was an interesting time in the game, whether he (Taide) walked off or whether he was given the directive to walk off, I just cannot get my head around it. It is not necessarily easy for the new batter coming in.

"Yes Jitesh is a gun but surely it is easier for the batter in. I find it very bizarre. I would have been filthy if I had been asked to retire out."

Punjab and Rajasthan face off against each other in Dharamshala on Friday ahead of their final league game. Only one team will reach 14 points and will have an outside chance to qualify for the playoffs.