While Shikhar Dhawan has been notching up centuries and half-centuries for fun, his partners have, however, only largely managed to put up binary scores. After Prithvi Shaw posted a string of single-digit scores mid-season - 4, 0,0 and 7 - the Capitals resorted to replacing him with veteran Ajinkya Rahane up top but that move turned out to be a disaster, too, as the former RR skipper ended up scoring a golden duck versus KKR. This has left Delhi in a precarious position, with them not knowing who their openers are, heading into the fag end of the season.

Former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody also echoed Agarkar’s sentiments and championed Shaw, who he believes injects positivity into the Delhi side.

Delhi took several questionable decisions in the KKR clash, one of which was to give just one over to Axar Patel. Despite having conceded just 7 runs off his first over, Shreyas Iyer did not throw the ball to Axar due to the presence of two left-handers, and the move backfired as KKR steamrolled their way to 194. Agarkar expressed his bafflement over Delhi’s thought process and hoped for Iyer to trust Axar more with the ball, even if it’s against left-handers.

“It was bizarre, really bizarre. Not bowling Axar when the team is getting carted all over the park for 190 runs. He has been one of Delhi’s main bowlers this season, perhaps their third best bowler after Rabada and Nortje. If you’re a good bowler, you’re a good bowler. By that logic, off-spinners shouldn’t ever bowl to right-handers. So when you’re getting carted all overs, not to bowl one of the best bowlers was a pretty strange decision.”

“It’s a tricky one (choosing between Holder and Nabi). Jason Holder has come in and done pretty well, he has taken 5 wickets in 2 games, I think the decision should be purely based on the opposition and the surface they’re playing on. I think they may even lean towards Mohammad Nabi playing because Dhawan’s had his problems against off-spin and Nabi, as we know, is a very, very crafty off-spinner.”