Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket, Sourav Ganguly, has confirmed the availability of Anrich Nortje and Ishant Sharma for selection ahead of their upcoming match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The Capitals, with Pant returning to competitive cricket, faced off against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2024 opener last week. In a much-anticipated comeback after a serious car accident, Pant took to the field, while opener Prithvi Shaw was benched for the match.

In the second match of IPL 2024 between DC and PBKS at Chandigarh, veteran David Warner and superstar Mitchell Marsh opened the innings. While Warner scored 29 off 21 balls, Marsh was dismissed for 20 off 12 deliveries. Shai Hope's resilient 33-run innings and Abishek Porel's quickfire 32 off 10 balls propelled DC to a total of 174-9 in 20 overs. However, DC couldn't halt Punjab's run chase, suffering a defeat by four wickets in their tournament opener. With DC set to face RR next, the spotlight is on whether Shaw will make his return to the Delhi playing XI.

Addressing reporters before DC's match against PBKS, Ganguly elaborated on the decision to exclude Shaw from the IPL 2024 opener. "Prithvi Shaw is an opener. We opted to open with Marsh and Warner, while Ricky Bhui is a middle-order batsman. They occupy different positions in the batting order. So it's not Bhui for sure. It's a different opening combination, with Marsh and Warner having opened together for Australia and performed well. Hence, we decided to go with that," Ganguly explained.

Shaw had a challenging IPL last season, managing only 106 runs in eight matches for DC. The Mumbai batsman averaged a mere 13.25 in IPL 2023. Despite his struggles, Shaw was retained by Delhi Capitals for the new season. He prepared for IPL 2024 by participating in the Ranji Trophy, where he amassed 451 runs. "To be honest, we didn't have much of Prithvi Shaw in the camp. Unfortunately, he was sidelined due to injury for a significant period. After his stint in England for Northamptonshire, where he performed exceptionally well but suffered a knee ligament injury, we couldn't have him until February. Following his recovery, he played in the Ranji Trophy," Ganguly added.

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