Delhi Capitals’ bowling coach James Hopes has expressed confidence in the team’s pace spearhead Anrich Nortje, despite his recent struggles in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Nortje, who made his comeback to competitive cricket after six months, was taken to the cleaners by Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag at the death, conceding 48 runs in his four overs.
Hopes acknowledged the challenges Nortje faced, having been out of action since September and playing only three domestic T20 games before the IPL. However, he emphasized Nortje’s status as one of the premier death bowlers in the game and expressed trust in his ability to improve.
“It’s the first time that Nortje has been at this level in a while. He had a fair time out of the game, but if you look at all the numbers, he is one of the premier death bowlers in the game. We trust that he is going to keep getting better,” Hopes said.
Hopes also identified areas for improvement in the team’s batting, which fell apart in the back-10 after a positive start. He highlighted the need to tidy up the middle-over batting, with the return of Rishabh Pant expected to provide a significant boost.
“We need to tidy up our middle over batting too. We tend to get stuck a little bit in phases there. We know the fix for that is Rishabh Pant,” Hopes said. “He has played two games after a long lay-off and I think you’re going to see some pretty special things from him in the next few weeks.”
Delhi Capitals will face Chennai Super Kings in their next game on Sunday, hoping to address the issues identified by Hopes and secure their first win of the IPL season.
