Mohammad Kaif wanted THIS player based upon his Test form

The Delhi Capitals (DC) have had a great Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, and one has to say, that this has come after a long time for this franchise. The team, captained by Shreyas Iyer, is placed second on the points table and has already booked itself a berth in the playoffs after their victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. In their last league game, Delhi Capitals got better off Rajasthan Royals to upstage them by five wickets.

Quite expectantly, Mohammad Kaif, the DC’s assistant coach, was happy and he talked about how the management worked towards forming the team.

“We have identified a core group of players who are going to win us matches and backing them to the hilt. For the coaching staff, one or two failures don’t change the equation as far as the players are concerned. That’s the standout factor for Delhi Capitals this season. We’ve decided that we aren’t going to make many changes this year,” Kaif was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

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Apart from Pant and Mishra, Ishant Sharma was the other player, who made a significant impact in the game. The Delhi Capitals spearhead got the first blood and dismissed Ajinkya Rahane. He continued to bowl in the right areas and got rid of Liam Livingstone and Mahipal Lomror.

Prior to this IPL, Ishant didn’t have the greatest of careers in the IPL. However, as per Kaif, it was his form in the Test series against England, South Africa and Australia that compelled the Capitals’ management to go for the 30-year-old lanky speedster.

“Ishant is a big factor in our success this year. His IPL career has been full of ups and downs. But his recent form in Test matches in Australia, South Africa and England was tremendous. That’s why we were sure that we wanted Ishant in our team,” Kaif, also a former Indian cricketer added.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ishant Sharma has scalped 10 wickets in 11 games he played this season. 
• Delhi Capitals currently occupies second spot in the points table. 
• Delhi Capitals upstaged Rajasthan Royals in last league game.