IPL 2022 | An open letter to Rishabh Pant!

Whether the third ball of the final over of Delhi Capitals' inning against Rajasthan was a no-ball or not is a debate for another day. What isn't, howsoever, and therefore, must be debated today is why Rovman Powell was sent to bat where he was. 

How often have you seen the climax of a film take place in the opening sequence? 

Similarly, have you seen the dessert arrive prior to the starter in a function where you've been invited as a guest? 

We live in a world that functions on order, and funnily, even those who don't quite believe in it end up citing a quote from philosophy- there's a perfect time for everything. 

Just that in a perfect IPL setting for the Delhi Capitals, Rovman Powell isn't positioned where he ought to be. 

Now we are no experts, wield no mics, wear no 'ex-cricketer' badges and have no cricketing output on any verifiable and admissible level, whether national or international, to offer a view. But we are fans and intrepid observers of the game. 

We see, make logical deductions and do happen to view our cricket closely. 

So here's a humble suggestion to Rishabh Pant. 

Instead of sending Powell in at eight, which we later found out was the doomsday scenario, can't the right-hander be accommodated at #4 or, in a worst-case scenario, #5?

There's some context to this. And evidently, it goes beyond Powell's carnivorous appetite, as evident on April 22, where he bludgeoned 30 of his 36 runs by way of only sixes. 

Earlier this year, with their T20 series against India on the line, the West Indies sent Rovman Powell in at 4 during the second game of the three-match series. Another loss here and the series, much like the ODI's before, would've culminated into a disaster. 

After Mayers and King departed, Powell walked in to give Pooran company as 127 were needed from a little over 11 overs. 

But it took the Jamaican merely six overs and some breathtaking hitting in them to get West Indies nearly at par with India; in the end, his team would go down fighting by a margin as scant as eight runs. 

But Powell remained unbeaten, untamed by even the strongest opponent he faced that evening: Ravi Bishnoi. 

It was an evening where one Ravi from India nearly met his match in another from many a million miles away. Powell stroked 5 towering sixes on his own and almost brought a team featuring Rohit and Virat down on its feet.

But how was he able to do that?

If you, Mr Pant, don't give some of the more colourful dashers of the ball in your side enough time to get their eye in, how would they even get going?

To achieve great results, every grandpa's book of wisdom says, you've got to begin early. 

We saw and felt immediate discomfort with the sight of Rovman Powell walking in at number 8.

Is he really a number eight to you that you felt that is where he should ideally bat? 

I can confidently say that he and Shannon Gabriel are two different individuals. 

Pardon the sarcasm!

But you sent him long after much damage had already been done by the Royals. 

Just to re-emphasise something that must be genuinely emphasised upon by the Delhi Capitals' think-tank, Powell achieved a career-best T20I score, also struck earlier this year, by batting at number 4. 

His blistering 107 against England that came of just 53 deliveries converted every Barbadian at the Kensington Oval into an Ian Bishop-Esque observer, where one was compelled to ask his fellow cricket lover: remember the name, Rovman Powell! 

But for now, dear Rishabh Pant, remember Rovman Powell does his best in the middle order, not when he's sent when the music is over, and it's time to turn off the lights!