The head coach of the Delhi Capitals’ franchise in the Indian Premier League, Ricky Ponting has said that they will miss the services of regular captain and keeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a horrible car accident last year in December.
Pant was ruled out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League because of the multiple injuries that he sustained in the near-fatal car crash late last year.
Rishabh was appointed as the captain of DC for IPL 2021 and guided the team to finish as the table-toppers in the league stage. However, they failed to reach the final of the tournament, losing the Qualifier 2 round to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Last year, DC had an average campaign and failed to make the playoffs, having won only 14 matches and finishing 5th in the standings.
In his 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.
Ricky Ponting Revealed His Special Plan For Rishabh Pant
Meanwhile, Ponting has claimed that Pant will always be the leader of the Delhi side, even if he is not playing the season. He also revealed his wish to make part of the team in any possible way, such as by having his number on their shirts or caps. He said:
“In an ideal world for me, he’d be sitting next to me in the dugout every match. But if that’s not possible, we’d like to make him part of the team in ways possible. We can have his number on our shirts or on caps. Just to make it clear that he’s our leader, even if he’s not with us,” Ricky Ponting said.
“He is the heart and soul of the Delhi Capitals, he is a Delhi boy, he is our leader,” Ponting said.
“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,” the Delhi Capitals coach added.
