Former mentor of the Delhi Capitals, Kevin Pietersen, has suggested a promotion in the batting order for one of the in-form batters in the Axar Patel-led side. The Capitals have played five games, winning three and losing two in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. On Tuesday, April 21, they lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
One of the main problems of the Capitals has been the abysmal performance from the batters who have been tried at No. 3. Nitish Rana played the first three matches at one drop but registered scores of 15, 0, and five. He was subsequently dropped from the side, and Sameer Rizvi, who was the Player of the Match in the first two games, got promoted to No. 3. However, the right-handed batter only scored six runs. In their most recent clash, which was against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Karun Nair batted at No. 3 and got dismissed for a run-a-ball five.
ESPNcricinfo recently asked on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) who should be batting at No. 3 for the Capitals in the upcoming games. “STUBBS,” Pietersen wrote in reply.
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2Tristan Stubbs came into the tournament on the back of red-hot form. He led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20 title earlier this year. Even during the 2026 T20 World Cup, Stubbs played some crucial knocks under pressure.
In IPL 2026, Stubbs has mostly batted at No. 6. However, he has had one chance each at No. 5 and No. 7. The 25-year-old has amassed 169 runs at a staggering average of 84.50 and a strike rate of 133.08. The strike rate is on the lower side because he has bailed the team out of pressure situations by curbing his naturally aggressive batting approach.
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It will be interesting to see if the Capitals’ management takes Pietersen’s suggestion and pushes Stubbs to No. 3 in the impending game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
