R Ashwin not playing: Delhi Capitals have made a solitary change to their Playing XI by bringing in a fast bowler for a spinner.
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During the 22nd match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has won the toss and chose to field.
“We will look to bowl first. The wicket looks dry, so we want to bowl before the dew sets in. Nothing much to talk about the previous game. We should have won the game before the Super Over,” Pant told Star Sports at the toss.
Much like Pant, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli revealed that he too wanted to field first because of the dew factor. Being asked about the changes made to their Playing XI, Kohli announced that batsman Rajat Patidar and all-rounder Daniel Sams have replaced all-rounder Daniel Christian and fast bowler Navdeep Saini for this match.
“We would have bowled as well. Dew is a big factor here. I think it came as early as the first innings. So we got to set a nice foundation, need to have wickets in hand and go hard. We need to keep that intent going,” Kohli told Star Sports at the toss.
Why is R Ashwin not playing vs RCB?
As far as the changes for Delhi are concerned, fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been included for spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. In the 19 overs that Ashwin had bowled across five matches, his solitary wicket had come at an economy rate of 7.73.
It is worth mentioning that Ashwin’s performance isn’t a reason for him not playing this match. After their victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai, 34-year old Ashwin had announced that he is taking a break from IPL 2021 to be with his family amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sharma, who had made his IPL debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, had joined Delhi Capitals in 2019. In 14 T20s for DC, Sharma’s 13 wickets have come at an average of 28.85, an economy rate of 7.65 and a strike rate of 22.62.
