Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir asked Delhi Capitals to bring Steve Smith back into the playing XI. Gambhir has said this before Delhi’s clash against the KKR in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2021. He also feels that their lineup doesn’t have a batsman-like Smith, who can anchor the innings as well.

However, Delhi lost to Chennai in Qualifier 1 and now they will play against Kolkata Knight Riders and try to win as well. And, former DC captain Gautam Gambhir feels that Steve Smith might be crucial in the game. While speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Gambhir stated that the Delhi Capitals should bring Steven Smith at number three.

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He said: “For me Smith’s record in the IPL doesn’t matter now. I think he has to be in especially, on a surface like this because if you look at the top order, Shikhar plays one way, Prithvi Shaw might have the best game or the worst game, Shreyas plays one way, Hetmyer plays one way, Pant plays his own way.’So Smith, probably, against a bowling lineup like this – against pace & against spin – he plays really well. So, I would definitely push him at no.3 and probably bat around him. Because, you need 140-150 on this wicket.”

However, he also opined that the Delhi Capitals have multiple left-handers in their line-up and they might face difficulty while facing the two in-form spin duo of KKR – Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine as well.

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“The kind of batting lineup DC has, they can, without Steve Smith, make 160, or can get out on 80-90 as well. Because that’s the kind of batting Delhi has. So against Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, its going to be a difficult task, especially for the left-handers. So, I would definitely want someone like Smith to put some runs on the board,” Gautam Gambhir, who also led KKR to the IPL title twice, concluded.