IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals Lose Two Allrounder Due To Injury For Whole Season

Resurgent Delhi Capitals have made a mixed start to the season. After the last-place finish in the previous edition, they started this season with a bang by beating three-time champions Mumbai Indians. In their next four games, they beat Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers to remain in contention to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

In their last outing, they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to get back to winning ways. Bowling first, Delhi restricted Royal Challengers to a modest total of 149 for 8. The Royal Challengers were off to a shaky start and lost Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers with just 40 runs on the board.  26 runs later, Marcus Stoinis departed too before Virat Kohli and Moeen Ali took the score past the 100-run mark. However, Moeen could not last long either and left with his team reeling at 103 for 4.

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Virat Kohli stayed till the 18th over but could not guide the Royal Challengers to a challenging total. The skipper top-scored for his team with 41 as Royal Challengers huffed and puffed to 149. Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball, picking up 4 wickets.

In reply, Delhi Capitals were off to a shaky start too and lost their experienced opener Shikhar Dhawan for a duck in the first over. However, before Royal Challengers could capitalise on the early wicket, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer added 69 runs in quick time to put Delhi on top. Shaw fell for 28 but Iyer went on to score a fine fifty as Delhi crossed the line with an over remaining.

But at a time when they would have wanted to focus fully on winning the upcoming games, they have been rocked by not one but two injuries. The Delhi-based outfit has lost two domestic players for the remainder of the tournament. The franchise is yet to reveal the names of the injured players. However, according to CricketNext, the two players are all-rounders Rahul Tewatia and Harshal Patel.

The report further claimed that Delhi Capitals are now on hunt for replacements. As a result, the franchise has decided to organise a trial ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday at the Eden Gardens.

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“Yes, we have a couple of injury concerns in the team. We can’t reveal the names of the players yet but we’ll be organising a trial in Kolkata, so that coach Ricky Ponting and advisor Sourav Ganguly can take a look at the available options and opt for the replacements,” Delhi Capitals director Mustafa Ghouse told the news outlet.

Harshal Patel had played two matches this season while Rahil Tewatia had played 4. Currently sixth in the table, Delhi will be hoping that the mid-season crises do not derail their campaign.