Delhi Capitals will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their third home game of the 2023 edition of the IPL and one more loss could all but throw them out of the qualification race. The Capitals have lost all five games they have played so far as neither the batters nor the bowlers have come to the party for them and the David Warner-led side will need to improve their all-round game considerably to stand a chance in the rest of the tournament. Head coach Ricky Ponting had expressed his frustration that the boys are working hard in the practice and doing everything right in the training, however, it’s not working at the moment in the matches.
With their tournament on the line, the Capitals might take a couple of big decisions as far as the line-up is concerned. Since Sarfaraz Khan hasn’t played after the second game, he is unlikely to make a comeback and might be joined by his Mumbai teammate Prithvi Shaw on the bench. Shaw has failed to make it count in the five matches as he has struggled against pace, spin and swing and was run out in the last game. The Capitals might make a decisive call on him on Thursday.
In place of Shaw, South African batter Rilee Rossouw might come back and Mustafizur Rahman, who has been expensive in the last couple of games could sit out again. With Khaleel Ahmed still injured, Mukesh Kumar is likely to return to the side.
With the batting unit struggling, the Capitals might push Axar Patel up the order to No. 5 while all-rounders Aman Khan and Lalit Yadav are likely to retain their places. With Mukesh Kumar coming in, Yash Dhull, who has had negligible returns in the last two games might have to sacrifice his spot, however, could be used as an impact substitute if the Capitals are chasing.
Delhi Capitals’ likely playing XI against KKR: David Warner (c), Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Abishek Porel (wk), Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Aman Khan
Impact Player: Yash Dhull or Chetan Sakariya
