"They bat at different positions"- Sourav Ganguly explains rationale behind benching Prithvi Shaw in DC's IPL 2024 opening game

Delhi Capitals (DC) director of cricket Sourav Ganguly explained why they benched explosive opener Prithvi Shaw in their opening game of the IPL 2024 season against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when Mitchell Marsh opened the innings with David Warner and Shaw was nowhere to be seen. However, Ganguly claimed that the Capitals looked to get the most out of the veteran Australian duo and opined that Ricky Bhui was a better option in the middle order than Shaw.

Here's what Sourav Ganguly told the reporters on the eve of their second IPL 2024 game against the Rajasthan Royals:

"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."

The move seemed to work for the Capitals as both Mitchell Marsh and David Warner got them off to a rollicking start, adding 39 runs in 3.1 overs. However, their innings just fell apart and they couldn't post a bg enough target for Punjab.

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Sourav Ganguly claims DC didn't have enough time with Prithvi Shaw in camp

Another reason Sourav Ganguly gave for not playing Prithvi Shaw was the lack of time the latter had to prepare with the Capitals in the pre-season camp. Ganguly shed light on the knee injury that kept Shaw out of action for several months.

As soon as the opener was fit, he went to play the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, playing right till the end of the tournament and winning the final. On this, Ganguly stated:

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."

He added:

"You can't take anybody away from Ranji Trophy and put in an IPL camp. And then Mumbai won the tournament, and he played till the last day of the tournament."

Prithvi Shaw had a horrific IPL 2023 with the bat, scoring just 106 runs in eight games at an appalling average of 13.25. But given his quality and given the manner of defeat Delhi had in their opening game, they could think of bringing the opener back into their XI against RR on Thursday.