Ryan Harris, Delhi Capitals bowling coach shared an update on spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s availability ahead of Delhi Capitals’ upcoming match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Ravi Ashwin last played in the Delhi Capitals’ match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) way back on September 20 in Dubai. He bowled a solitary over where he picked up the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Karun Nair.
However, while trying to stop the ball off his own bowling in the last ball of the over, he injured his shoulder and walked off the ground showing enormous pain. Going into DC’s fourth match in Sharjah on Saturday, October 3, Ryan Harris said that Ravichandran Ashwin has made a fast recovery and is in the thick of things.
Ryan Harris: Ravi Ashwin Is Doing Excellent And Had A Good Session Before KKR Match But Will Play Subject To Medical Staff’s Confirmation
But Ryan Harris also said that it’s up to the medical team to decide whether Ravichandran Ashwin would be available for selection or not. Ravichandran Ashwin has missed two matches thus far after getting injured on September 20.
“He’s doing excellent. He had a really good session last night with the ball, bat and in the field. So, he might be available for selection for tomorrow, but we are still waiting for our medical staff’s confirmation this evening,” Harris was quoted as saying by the Capitals, reported by Hindustan Times.
The Delhi Capitals tasted their first defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) who beat them by 15 runs. Nevertheless, Ryan Harris reckons that Delhi Capitals don’t need to press the panic button and he sounded confident for the team to bounce back.
“Coming off an unlucky loss, we just weren’t at our best for that game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. But, there’s no panicking by any means. When you look back at it, a couple of balls during our bowling were a little bit of a miss, and they (SRH) probably ran better between the wickets, we didn’t run as well. But 15 runs is not a huge gap,” he stated.
Delhi Capitals lost as they could only manage 147/7 against SRH who scored 162/4 in 20 overs. They won the previous match against CSK by 44 runs after scoring 175/3. They won their first match against KXIP through Super Over after both teams scored identical 157/8.
Ryan Harris: KKR Is A Good Side And Delhi Capitals Are Researching To Play Against Them With Both Bat And Ball
Ryan Harris is also wary of the threat that KKR pose. The Kolkata Knight Knights are coming off back-to-back wins against the SunRisers Hyderabad(SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) following their defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI).
“They (KKR) are a pretty good side and are playing good cricket, with some huge players. We are in the middle of the research at the moment to find out how we’re going to bowl to them and face their bowlers,” Harris added.
Delhi Capitals have a formidable squad with skipper Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer and Prithvi Shaw forming the core of batting line-up.
Their bowling line up includes pacers Kagiso Rabada, who is second in leading wicket-taker in IPL 2020, Mohit Sharma, Avesh Khan besides Anrich Nortje. Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Ravi Ashwin and Sandeep Lamichhane are spin bowling options. Pacer Ishant Sharma is ruled out. Rishabh Pant is the wicketkeeper while Marcus Stoinis is the all-rounder in the squad.