Former Delhi Capitals mentor Kevin Pietersen has suggested promotion of one of the in-form batsmen in the batting order in the Axar Patel-led team. Capitals have played five matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, out of which they have won three and lost two. On Tuesday, April 21, they will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
One of the main problems for the Capitals is the poor performance of the batsmen who have been tried at number 3. Nitish Rana played the first three matches together but recorded scores of 15, 0 and five. He was later dropped from the team, and Samir Rizvi, who was player of the match in the first two matches, was promoted to number 3. However, the right-handed batsman scored only six runs. In their most recent encounter, which was against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Karun Nair batted at number 3 and was out after scoring five runs off one ball.
ESPNcricinfo recently asked on 'X' (formerly Twitter) who should bat at No. 3 for the Capitals in the upcoming games. Peterson wrote back, “Stubs.”
Delhi Capitals have a problem at number 3
06:07 pm · April 21, 2026
Tristan Stubbs Came into the tournament on the strength of tremendous form. He led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20 title earlier this year. Even during the 2026 T20 World Cup, Stubbs played some important innings under pressure.
In IPL 2026, Stubbs has mostly batted at number 6. However, he has got one chance each at number 5 and number 7. The 25-year-old player has scored 169 runs at an average of 84.50 and strike rate of 133.08. The strike rate is at a low level as he has taken the team out of pressure situations by curbing his naturally aggressive batting approach.
It will be interesting to see if the Capitals management follows Pietersen's suggestion and pushes Stubbs to No. 3 in the impending game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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