'If you're not in form, you can't keep your place,' - Amre on Prithvi Shaw

Delhi Capitals assistant coach Pravin Amre has recently said that star India opener Prithvi Shaw’s exclusion from the last few games was justified considering the way Abishek Porel was batting in the tournament. Shaw, who played eight games, scored only 198 runs which came at an average of 24.75 and a strike rate of 163.63, and struck one half-century.

Prithvi Shaw faced poor form this season

“He [Shaw] was our retained played, and as you see, last four [of five] games he was also on the bench. But that’s the IPL,” Pravin Amre said after DC’s 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their last league game of the season. “If you are not in form, you can’t [keep your place]. Ultimately, the pressure for the team is so much that every game is important and we have to win. And we had done that. Without playing him, we won the games. And whoever got the opportunity… I think Abishek grabbed the opportunities with both hands.”

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Abishek Porel stepped up with the bat

However, Prithvi Shaw didn’t play the first two games of the season but scored a quickfire 43 off 27 balls against Chennai Super Kings in his first match as well. He also had a 40-ball 66 against Mumbai Indians but he lost his form after that. Porel, on the other hand, smashed 327 runs in 12 innings which came at a strike rate of 159.51. On Tuesday, he smashed 58 off 33 balls, helping DC score 73 in the powerplay, as he added a 92-run stand with Shai Hope for the second wicket as well.

“What an innings [Porel] played today,” Amre said. “We saw Jake [Fraser-McGurk] getting out in the first over and even then we managed to get 73 runs in the powerplay. I think that’s what was so critical and the credit goes to Shai Hope and Porel for getting that 92-run partnership today,” he concluded.

In the three matches Abhishek Porel played as an opener, he scored 159 runs at a strike rate of 165.62. Both his fifties also came at the top of the order as well.