Delhi Capitals (DC) Assistant coach Shane Watson believes that there are no weak links in the squad and that the availability of Mitchell Marsh who has returned back from injury will make them even harder to beat now.
The 30-year old Marsh was having problems with his hip-flexor during the white-ball leg of the Pakistan tour last month and had been undergoing his rehabilitation process with the Capitals, under head physio Patrick Farhart for some time.
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The Australian all-rounder will be available for the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore today and will bat at one-down.
“I think we’ve got one of the strongest teams now and now Mitchell Marsh is going to be coming back in. It’s looking like he’d be coming in for the next game… We’re not going to have too many, no real weak links at all now with just the way the franchise picked up players at the auction,” Watson said in an interview with the Grade Cricketer on Friday.
“The international quality Indian fast bowlers, for example, Shardul Thakur and we’ve got Khaleel Ahmed, who’s just incredibly skilful as well. Also spin, our international-quality spinners, with Kuldeep Yadav, who is bowling amazingly well as well as Axar Patel… So, there’s not too many weak links and Mitch Marsh is coming in to bat most probably No 3. It just gives us even more strength, so we’re going to be really hard to beat now that we’ve got our sort of full squad together, our best team together really. And it just depends on injuries along the way, but it’s exciting,” he further added.
Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant has led the team to two victories in his first four games this season with Kuldeep Yadav impressing in the bowling department and openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner doing the same with the bat as seen in their recent win against KKR.
Warner, hadn’t played a single T20 game since the T20 World Cup final last year was the star performer with 61 runs to his name in the last game.
“He [Warner] was a little bit sort of undone against Super Giants. You could see he was just a little bit tentative. But then the next game that Delhi Capitals played, he was at his best straightaway.
So, the combination with him and Prithvi Shaw as well – it’s going to be really awesome to watch every time they got to play throughout this tournament because Prithvi Shaw is an absolute freak of nature as well,” Watson said about his former Australia teammate.
Despite the return of Marsh and the inclusion of an in-form Warner in their side, Watson feels that the team has been having issues in zeroing-in to a perfect starting 11.
“I suppose one thing it comes down to is the 10 teams. It’s just stretched out the talent pool…,” he said.
“One of the most important things coming into Delhi Capitals, for example, is trying to get the team to come together as quick as possible, work through as quick as you possibly can, what your combinations are going to be, and then try to stick with them for as long as you possibly can because teams are still chopping and changing a little bit of their combinations – sometimes with injury but more so just working through who’s going to play where,” he further added.
(Inputs from IANS)
