Prithvi Shaw unlikely to be available for Delhi Capitals' last two league games

The questions around Prithvi Shaw's health continue with Delhi Capitals' assistant coach Shane Watson saying that the opener is unlikely to be available for the team's last two league games.

Shaw has been down with a fever and has been admitted to a hospital. He last played on May 1, against Lucknow Super Giants, and has missed three games since then.

"I don't know his diagnosis exactly," Watson told the Grade Cricketer on Thursday, "but he has just had this underlying fever for the previous couple of weeks, which they've had to really get to the bottom of it to find out exactly what it was. It's not looking great for him to be available for the last couple of games, which is a big shame because he is an incredibly skilful young batter taking the best bowlers in the world down a lot of the time.

"It's a big loss for us to not have him. The last couple of weeks he has been under the weather. Hopefully, he gets back to full health soon, but unfortunately, it's not going to be in time for the minimum of last two games that we've got."

In an in-game interview during yesterday's match against Rajasthan Royals, head coach Ricky Ponting told host broadcaster Star Sports that "Prithvi has been ruled out now", without specifying for how long.

At the post-match presentation, captain Rishabh Pant was asked if Shaw's IPL was over. He too didn't have a concrete answer. "We miss him, but at the same time that is something we cannot control," Pant said. "He got typhoid or something like that because the doctor told me that. Hopefully, he will be back [but] we don't know yet. If he is back it's going to be a good addition for us."

Capitals currently have 12 points from 12 games with a healthy net run rate, which gives them a genuine shot at the playoffs.