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Former India batter Mohammad Kaif served as part of Delhi Capitals‘ support staff between IPL 2019 and 2021, where he got the opportunity to share his experience and wisdom with the players of the franchise. 2019 was an important year for DC as it was the year they were rechristened as Delhi Capitals from Delhi Daredevils. After finishing with the wooden spoon the previous IPL in 2019, the Capitals were determined to make a mark and assembled a squad that was capable of taking them all the way. (Also Follow: IPL 2022 Full Coverage)
And the change worked. DC qualified for the Playoffs after finishing third on the points table. Their opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw was one of the success stories of that season as they gave DC good starts on most occasions. IPL 2019 was a fine season for Shaw, who scored 353 runs at an average of 22 with two half-centuries. However, he did find himself in the middle of a lean run during the season and for that, he approached Kaif for a rather bizarre request.
“I was with the Delhi Capitals for three years and got to spend a lot of time with Prithvi Shaw. He had this ritual where, before the match, I used to hold a new ball with the seam and throw it underarm towards him, below his knee. He would keep knocking it back to me,” Kaif told SportsKeeda in an interview.
“One day, when I was having tea, a player came in and told me that Shaw was waiting for me outside. I ran outside and asked him what happened. So, he told me, ‘Please bowl underarm to me, I am not getting runs. I want to start this ritual again’.”
Kaif then mentioned how the ‘ritual’ worked wonders for Shaw. He had scores of 7, 24, 99, 0, 11, 9, 14, 4, 20, 13, 42 and 18 in the league stage. His knock of 99 came against Kolkata Knight Riders, with Kaif recalling how the plan benefitted Shaw immensely as his magnificent knock helped DC register a close win over KKR, a game that was decided in the Super Over.
“He was specific that I had to bowl underarm but with a straight seam and also below the knee so that the ball could meet the middle of the bat. He used to play 10-12 balls in that manner. He used to hit the ball back at me and get into a sort of batting rhythm,” added Kaif.
“In the next match, he went in and scored runs. After the game, we looked at each other and started laughing. We did not speak to each other, just made eye contact and I suggested that if a ritual is working, then don’t break it. He admitted that he had made a mistake and became lazy but assured that he would not repeat it. And he kept following the ritual after that.”
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