Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting has showered praises on the new skipper of Delhi Capitals – Rishabh Pant and he is very confident that the young cricketer will take the team to greater heights in IPL 2021.
This will be the first time that Rishabh will be leading a team in the IPL. Pant was given the additional responsibility after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury. While Pant has big shoes to fill in however Ponting believes that Pant will thrive in the extra responsibility that he has given by the team management.
In an interview shared by Delhi Capitals’ on their official Twitter handle, Ponting can be seen praising Pant’s performances and his personality. He said:
“What I know about Rishabh (Pant) is that he understands the game really well. He is very strong in his own thoughts and opinions. That will hold him in great stead as far as captaincy is concerned.”
While cricket experts and pundits have been blown away by Pant’s amazing rise as a match-winner, however, the one who is least surprised by him is Ricky Ponting. He said:
“I think if we can get most of the talking done with Rishabh (Pant) about his captaincy leading into the first game, we don’t have to worry about it as the tournament starts. The last thing you want is to be overloading the captain with all sorts of information once the tournament is underway. It’s a big part of my job. It’s a big part of the other coaches’ jobs but also the senior players. It’s a big role for them as well to help him when needed once the game starts. He is going to need a little bit of support,”
According to Ricky Ponting, Rishabh always had the talent to succeed at the top level. During the interaction, Ponting revealed the prediction he made for Rishabh in Australia. Showering praises on Pant, Ricky said:
“I am not surprised. I have known how talented Rishabh is since the moment I laid eyes on him. When he got back into the Test team in Australia, I actually made a comment before a ball was bowled in the second Test match that this would be the unearthing of a 15-year Test player for India. I was that confident in him. He is on track to doing just that. His cricket over the last 6-7 months has been nothing short of breathtaking and outstanding. He is being compared now with some of the great wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world. Extra responsibility is going to sit well with him. He wants to be the main man, the leader”
Ricky also expressed confidence that the Delhi-based franchise can go one step ahead and win the upcoming season of the IPL. He said:
“I think we can win the IPL, as simple as that. It is all about winning and how we can go one step further than we went last year. I think our squad is stronger than it was last year. I am thrilled with the players we have got here.”
Here, watch the video:
One clear goal for #IPL2021 ?@RishabhPant17‘s form and captaincy ??
Squad strength ??? | Ladies and gentlemen, our first #IPL2021 interview with Head Coach @RickyPonting ?️#YehHaiNayiDilli #DCAllAccess @OctaFX pic.twitter.com/ECuG4Ku9Pq
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 5, 2021
