Picture Credit: IPL/Twitter
Former Australian all-rounder and Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson has recently given some hot takes on the current Indian Premier League while talking on the Grade Cricketer Podcast. Watto expressed that the Mumbai Indians have made a mistake as they paid a lot of money to Ishan Kishan.
He said, “It hasn’t surprised me that MI are at the bottom of the table because they had a shocking auction. Spending so much money on Ishan Kishan… He is a very talented and skilful player, but he’s not worth blowing nearly your whole salary on. And then, going for Jofra Archer, not knowing whether he is going to come back in. He hasn’t played cricket for quite a while. They have got quite a few holes in the team.”
He was happy to sort of push the Mankad rule to the limit: Watson
Watson also opined on Ravi Ashwin’s decision to walk back "retired out", after scoring 28 off 23 balls. He expressed, “That won’t be happening here (at Delhi Capitals). How do you learn as a batsman to work through if you have a couple of balls where you are not scoring runs? That’s part and parcel of your development as a cricketer.”
“He just seems to be that guy. He was happy to sort of push the Mankad rule to the limit. Now, it’s been changed and now he’s the first one to retire. RR always trying to question the status quo, in a way. That night, they definitely did, and Ashwin was the one to put his hand up.”
"They have got a hole, especially with their fast bowling"
Later the 40-year-old also talked about the problems faced by his former team Chennai Super Kings after a slow start to their season. Watson opined, “The biggest issue with CSK, now that I have seen their five games, is that they have got a hole, especially with their fast bowling. In the previous years, they had Shardul Thakur.”
“Deepak Chahar is injured. They paid a lot for him at the auction, but he is (likely to be) unavailable for a lot of the tournament, which is a big hole. They don’t have a quality overseas quick like Josh Hazlewood. Earlier, they always had a world-class overseas quick bowler. That’s why they are struggling.”