Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly has backed Rishabh Pant to make a solid comeback but after healing properly. As the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner, this time DC will be without the services of their regular captain Rishabh Pant .
For the unversed, Pant is currently recovering from multiple injuries that he sustained during a tragic accident when his car collided with a road divider on the morning of December 30 last year. Pant has since been treated in two major hospitals in Dehradun and Mumbai and is currently undergoing recovery.
In Pant’s absence, David Warner has been appointed as the captain of the Delhi Capitals, having had the experience of guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first and only IPL title in 2016. Warner was roped in by Delhi Capitals for Rs 6.25 crore in the 2022 mega auction.
Sourav Ganguly On Pant’s Comeback
Meanwhile, ahead of the tournament, Sourav Ganguly has said that a player of Rishabh’s caliber will “always be back” and must “heal properly” before staging a comeback.
Speaking at the pre-season camp at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ganguly said: “Anybody would miss Rishabh Pant. I am sure the national team is missing him as well. But it’s unfortunate what has happened. He is young, so he has got a lot of time left in his career. I have always said that he is a special player and I have not hidden that,”
He added: “I wish he (Pant) comes back. Whatever time it takes, he must heal properly and come back. There is no hurry because someone as brilliant as him will always be back,”
Ricky Ponting Also Backed Rishabh Pant
Recently, DC head coach Ricky Ponting also emphasized the importance of Pant while speaking to reporters at an event. Speaking about Pant’s return, Ponting said: “In an ideal world for me, he’d be sitting next to me in the dugout,”
He added: “He is the heart and soul of the Delhi Capitals, he is a Delhi boy, he is our leader,” Ponting opined. “I have spoken to Rishabh Pant in the last few months. Also have tried to give him his own time and space. Obviously, it’s a very, very difficult time that he is going through right now. It is going to be a long recovery, a long way back to playing, hopefully, international cricket again.”
