One captaincy blunder of each captain in IPL 2020

8) Shreyas Iyer – Dropping Prithvi Shaw from the playing XI

The Delhi Capitals are digging a hole for themselves by playing some sloppy cricket at the most inopportune time. Though they have won seven games in this season, now they are on a four-match losing streak, which will affect the team morale going forward. Besides, they are still not officially qualified for the playoffs, which will only add pressure when they will play their next tie against Royal Challengers Bangalore. So it seems they peaked too early in the tournament.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side started their campaign with a bang but losing some players to injury, and the poor run of some players hasn’t helped their cause in the second half of the season. On the other hand, the skipper has also made some tactical errors as the tournament has progressed. Like demoting himself in the batting-order, following a set pattern, and the most important one that fans will not remember, dropping Prithvi Shaw.

The right-hander has indeed looked woefully out of form after a couple of half-centuries at the start of the season. And that can happen in T20s where batsmen have to play his shots all the time. Sadly, Iyer ran out of patience and decided to drop him from the side. That move didn’t work for the team. His absence has affected the top-order, which scored heavily before that move. Especially Dhawan, who scored two centuries while opening the innings with him, as he has scored just six runs in the last three outings, including two ducks. Iyer might have realized his mistake, and that’s why he brought him back in the game against Mumbai. But now, he might not play his natural game because of the fear of getting dropped again.