IPL 2021: Ashish Nehra baffled with Rishabh Pant’s captaincy, asks why Ravi Ashwin didn’t bowl four overs

IPL 2021: Ashish Nehra baffled with Rishabh Pant’s captaincy, asks why Ravi Ashwin didn’t bowl four overs

Rishabh Pant, Ashish Nehra and Ravi Ashwin

Delhi Capitals lost their second match of the season against Rajasthan Royals after registering an emphatic victory in the opening game against Chennai Super Kings. The Delhi-based franchise could only post a below-par total 147-8 on the board after batting first in Mumbai. 

However, DC’s bowlers got them back in the game after reducing the opposition to 42-5. But heroics from David Miller and Chris Morris ensured a win for RR from the jaws of defeat. 

Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra questioned Rishabh Pant’s captaincy for the way he used his bowlers during the game. Nehra mentioned that DC spinner Ravi Ashwin bowled just three overs and Pant could have bowled out his entire quota as RR had two left-handers in their lineup.

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“Ravichandran Ashwin bowled just three overs. In the chase of 148-run target, there was a phase when Rajasthan Royals had lost 5 top-order batters and two left-handers – David Miller and Rahul Tewatia – were at the crease. You could have used Ashwin then.

“When Tewatia got out and Miller and Morris paired up, then you had the choice to deploy Ashwin. Royals were six down then and had Ashwin taken another on at that point of time, DC would have won the game there itself,” Nehra told Cricbuzz.

‘I would have preferred Ashwin over Marcus Stoinis’: Nehra

Ashish Nehra

Pant tossed the ball to Marcus Stoinis to complete Ashwin’s remaining fourth over. However, the Australian all-rounder conceded 15 runs in that over which shifted the momentum towards the batting side. Nehra said that rather than giving the ball to Stoinis, he would have gone back to Ashwin under such circumstances. 

“So Rather than handing one over to Marcus Stoinis, under such circumstances, I would have preferred to go with Ashwin. If it was Riyan Parag or Sanju Samson at the crease with an asking rate was 9-10 runs per over and you didn’t give an over to Ravi Ashwin thinking that he might get hit for 2-3 sixes, that’s a completely different thing.

“Before handing an over Stoinis, Ashwin should have completed his 4-over spell,” he added.

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