'It was a no-brainer' - Robin Uthappa feels Delhi Capitals must have retained opener Shikhar Dhawan

India’s batter Robin Uthappa isn’t quite convinced with the retention calls taken by IPL franchise Delhi Capitals. According to him, Shikhar Dhawan should have been retained by the team as he has done exceptionally well for them.

Delhi Capitals retained Rishabh Pant, left-arm spinner Axar Patel, opening batter Prithvi Shaw and South African pacer Anrich Nortje. In recent years, DC has strongly built its team and, as asserted by chairman Parth Jindal on the Star Sports show, letting go of some key players was a difficult call for them. Uthappa however feels that the pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw has reaped big rewards for the team and letting go of one of them is surprising.

DC did not retain the South African speedster Kagiso Rabada as well. Instead, they went with his fellow countryman Nortje. Uthappa, who recently featured for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021, reckoned that the franchise should have retained both Rabada and Nortje. By doing so, he feels that the team could have further strengthened their fast bowling unit by roping in Indian pacers.

Robin Uthappa opens up on players retained by Delhi Capitals

“About Shikhar, for sure. He has done so exceptionally well for them. It was a no-brainer. I thought Kagiso Rabada would be a no-brainer. If they had both, Kagiso and Anrich Nortje, you essentially have your fast bowling set up and then you go for another couple of Indian fast bowlers, and then you have your bowling line-up set up and that was a very dangerous bowling line-up, a match-winning bowling line-up,” Robin Uthappa said on Star Sports.

“And even up there, we know how dangerous Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan can be, so the fact that they have let go of one from that pair is actually quite surprising,” he added.

Delhi Capitals has had an impressive run in the high-profile league lately. The team advanced to the playoffs in IPL 2019. However, they then reached the finals of IPL 2020. In the last edition of the league as well, the team exuded some great promise by dominating the proceedings and presenting themselves as one of the strongest contenders.