DC should promote Shardul Thakur to ensure a better finish: Virender Sehwag

The Delhi Capitals' (DC) journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 has been a roller-coaster ride. First, they started with a fantastic victory against Mumbai Indians (MI). Then, they won a couple of one-sided affairs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). 

Subsequently, they suffered dramatic defeats against Gujarat Titans (GT), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Royal Challengers (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes DC's poor finishing is responsible for these losses, and it's something they need to address before their crucial encounter against KKR. 

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag opined that despite having several dynamic players in their line-up, DC's finishing has become a matter of concern for them. Further elaborating on this issue, Sehwag said that Rovman Powell has been a complete failure, whereas skipper Rishabh Pant has not provided the final flourish.  

"Rovman Powell hasn't done anything substantial after all these games. Rishabh Pant too. He hasn't had a great season so far. He has been batting well in patches but hasn't been able to score big runs. They had Stoinis and Hetmyer last year to finish matches for them, so Pant's knocks of 30-40 runs did look good on the scorecard back then. But now there's nobody down the order to finish," Sehwag commented. 

The Nawab of Najafgarh had a couple of suggestions for the Rishabh Pant-led team to resolve this problem. Firstly, he advised the DC openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner to bat till the 15th or 16th over of the innings. In another way, as per Sehwag, DC can promote Shardul Thakur up the order and utilise his batting prowess to have a better finish.

"Shaw and Warner have been scoring runs, and they need to bat for a long period of time. They will have to stay there for 15-16 overs for DC to gain an advantage over their opposition", the former Indian opener said. "If that doesn't happen, someone from the middle order will have to take responsibility. You can send Shardul Thakur up the order. He hasn't been doing much with the ball and could maybe come up with useful contributions with the bat," the 43-year-old concluded. 

This season, Thakur has scored 80 runs at an astounding strike rate of 186.05. His 11-ball 22 was a handy cameo against MI, and his blistering unbeaten knock of 29 runs off just 11 balls helped DC post an above-par total of 215 against KKR. 

The hearty all-rounder also played a quick-fire knock of 17 runs off nine deliveries against RCB and took DC closer to the target of 190. The Mumbai cricketer has exhibited his exceptional hitting skills many times in the international games.