Delhi Capitals (DC) endured another loss in the ongoing IPL 2026 season, failing to defend 143 in their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, May 8 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Many were expecting to see Prithvi Shaw in the lineup amid inconsistency at the top order. However, the Maharashtra batter was not included in the line-up.
Venugopal Rao opens up on not giving a single chance to Prithvi Shaw
DC Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao addressed the issue at the post-match conference with a straightforward answer, which almost confirmed that Prithvi Shaw might not have a single game in the side's remaining games.
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On being asked about not giving a single chance to Prithvi Shaw, Venugopal gave a stern response, asking which of the two current openers-Pathum Nissanka or KL Rahul should be dropped for Shaw to feature in the playing XI.
"At the top of the order, whom do you want us to drop? Pathum or KL?" he asked.
With three games left for DC in the IPL 2026 season, it will be interesting to see if the management shows some faith in Prithvi Shaw's capabilities and give him the chance to open the innings.
Prithvi Shaw's IPL career
Prithvi Shaw made his IPL debut April 23, 2018 while representing Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils then) against Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab then), where he scored rapid 22 runs off just 10 balls.
For over next six years Shaw continued to play for DC despite several underwhelming seasons. In 79 matches, Shaw managed to gather 1,892 runs at an underwhelming average of 23.95 with a strike rate of 147.47. The right-handed opener has scored 14 half-centuries in the competition, with his highest score of 99 coming against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019.