Captain Rishabh Pant said Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is expected to return to Delhi Capitals for the first playoff against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Delhi lost their last league match to Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on Friday, but topped the table in the Twenty20 tournament.
Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders joined Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore as the fourth team to make it to the playoffs.
Stoinis was thrown out of the field with a hamstring strain while bowling his second over in the first match of the resumed IPL in the United Arab Emirates in Delhi.
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Delhi, eyeing their maiden IPL crown, won four out of six matches in Stoinis’ absence and later made debut Indian all-rounder Ripple Patel.
“We had already qualified, so we thought we were going to try someone because Stoinis was injured. Hopefully he will play in the next match.
Stoinis’ return to the field will be good news for Australia, who have included the all-rounder in the national squad for the T20 World Cup starting October 17.
Stoinis, a middle-order batsman and medium-pacer, recently said that he wants to be the “best finisher” for Australia in world cricket.
The winner of the first IPL qualifier will make it to the final on October 15, while the loser will get another chance to make it to the title match.
Kolkata will face Bangalore in the Eliminator on Monday, who are still looking for their maiden IPL title as captain of the team in Kohli’s last season.
The loser will be out of the tournament. The winner of the match will play the loser from qualifier one.
Kohli said Bengaluru, who thrashed Delhi by seven wickets with Srikar hitting India for a six off India’s last ball, need to step up their fielding levels ahead of the match in Sharjah.
“I definitely think we need to be quick in the field. We need to take 50-50 chances in our way,” Kohli said.
He said, ‘These runs are important in big matches. No team will give you a second chance when it comes to the playoffs.”
Holders Mumbai Indians crashed out of the five-time champions after failing to make the playoffs despite a big win in their last league match.
The 14th edition of the world’s most popular T20 league was halted midway on May 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic in India and resumed last month.
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