Former Team India captain Kris Srikkanth urged the Delhi Capitals (DC) to drop out-of-form batter Nitish Rana for the upcoming IPL 2026 clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 11. Srikkanth insisted that DC play Abishek Porel at No.3 over Nitish to reduce the burden on KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka.

DC acquired Nitish Rana in an off-season trade with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to beef up the top-order batting that let them down last year. However, the southpaw has been dismal, averaging under 7 at a strike rate of 76.92 in three outings.

Talking about DC’s batting lineup for the CSK clash, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel (18:22):

“They also rely heavily on KL Rahul. If he gets out early, they could come unstuck. I will drop Nitish Rana and play Abishek Porel. He is a good player. I am not sure why DC don’t play him. Their batting is still a bit iffy. CSK have to break the Rahul-Nissanka opening stand early. CSK have to remove KL Rahul early, or else he’ll anchor the innings to perfection.”

Porel has scored over 300 runs for DC in the last two IPL seasons at a strike rate of over 150.

“Akeal Hosein should replace Matt Henry” – Kris Srikkanth on CSK’s playing 11

Kris Srikkanth called on CSK to drop struggling New Zealand pacer Matt Henry and replace him with West Indian spinner Akeal Hosein. With the talented Dewald Brevis set to return, Srikkanth believes the Men in Yellow should go with Brevis, Akeal, Jamie Overton, and Noor Ahmad as their four overseas players.

The former captain also urged CSK to consider the uncapped Indian duo, Gurjapneet Singh or Ramakrishna Ghosh, as Impact Subs.

“Akeal Hosein should replace Matt Henry. With Brevis, their four overseas players should be himself, Noor Ahmad, Jamie Overton, and Akeal Hosein. They can also try out Gurjapneet Singh as Impact Sub. They might also consider Ramakrishna Ghosh for Anshul Kamboj, even though Kamboj has bowled well in a couple of matches. Shreyas Gopal has also been in form and can play, as leg-spinners are potential match-winners,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

The 1983 World Cup winner also urged skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad to trust the spinners more, saying:

“Ruturaj Gaikwad has to start trusting his spinners. Spinners are the real match-winners, as Bishnoi showed in the RCB game. Even for RCB, it was Krunal Pandya who shone. Give Prashant Veer two overs. At the maximum, he’ll go for 25 in those two overs. The way they are smashing Matt Henry, you might as well give Prashant Veer the ball.”

Already reeling at the bottom of the standings, CSK are looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat to start their IPL 2026 campaign.