Delhi Capitals assistant coach Pravin Amre has recently shared that talented India opener Prithvi Shaw’s exclusion from the last few games was justified considering how Abishek Porel has been batting in the tournament. Shaw, who played eight matches, scored only 198 runs at an average of 24.75 and a strike rate of 163.63, and hit one half-century as well.

“He [Shaw] was our retained played, and as you see, last four [of five] games he was also on the bench. But that’s the IPL,” Pravin Amre said after DC’s 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their last league game of the season. “If you are not in form, you can’t [keep your place]. Ultimately, the pressure for the team is so much that every game is important and we have to win. And we had done that. Without playing him, we won the games. And whoever got the opportunity… I think Abishek grabbed the opportunities with both hands.”

However, Prithvi Shaw didn’t play the first two matches of the season but hit a quickfire 43 off 27 balls against Chennai Super Kings in his first match as well. He also scored a 40-ball 66 against Mumbai Indians but he lost his form after that as well. Porel, on the other hand, hit 327 runs in 12 innings which came at a strike rate of 159.51. On Tuesday, he scored 58 off 33 balls, helping DC score 73 in the powerplay, as he stitched a 92-run stand with Shai Hope for the second wicket as well.

“What an innings [Porel] played today,” Pravin Amre said. “We saw Jake [Fraser-McGurk] getting out in the first over and even then we managed to get 73 runs in the powerplay. I think that’s what was so critical and the credit goes to Shai Hope and Porel for getting that 92-run partnership today,” he concluded.

In the three matches Abhishek Porel played as an opener, he smashed 159 runs at a strike rate of 165.62. Both his fifties also came at the top of the order as well.