Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa was not happy with the retentions made by Delhi Capitals for IPL 2022.
The existing IPL teams on Tuesday (30th November) revealed their retention list ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. Delhi Capitals were one among the four franchises that retained four players.
With a star-studded line-up, no doubt it would have been a headache for them to choose only four players and there was no surprise that skipper Rishabh Pant was their first retention.
What came as a surprise was the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, and R Ashwin were not retained.
The other three retentions named by Delhi Capitals were Akshar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, and Anrich Nortje. Many were unhappy with the franchise for letting go of senior opener Shikhar Dhawan and pacer Kagiso Rabada, saying that the duo should’ve in the list of retained players.
Robin Uthappa was among the ones who were not convinced with retentions made by Delhi Capitals. The Indian cricketer pointed out that Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada have played exceptionally well for the franchise and they should’ve been retained.
"About Shikhar, for sure. He has done so exceptionally well for them. It was a no-brainer. I thought Kagiso Rabada would be a no-brainer," said Uthappa on Star Sports show 'IPL Retention,” Robin Uthappa said on Star Sports.
Uthappa pointed out that had Delhi Capitals retained both Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje then they could’ve got their fast bowling set up. He said that they then only needed to pick two Indian fast bowlers, which would’ve made their bowling department dangerous and match-winning.
"If they had both, Kagiso and Anrich Nortje, you essentially have your fast bowling set up and then you go for another couple of Indian fast bowlers, and then you have your bowling line-up set up and that was a very dangerous bowling line-up, a match-winning bowling line-up,” he said.
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Robin Uthappa said that to let go of one among the pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw was a very surprising move by Delhi Capitals.
"And even up there, we know how dangerous Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan can be, so the fact that they have let go of one from that pair is actually quite surprising," he said.
Notably, Delhi Capitals have been one of the most consistent sides in the IPL since the last three editions. They qualified for three successive playoffs in the last three seasons, reaching their first final in the 2020 edition.
(PTI inputs)
