As Delhi Capitals prepare to resume the second leg of IPL 2021 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22, head coach Ricky Ponting took to the media to talk about his side and their stand-in captain Rishabh Pant. Under the leadership of Pant, the side had a fruitful first half of the competition. They are currently ranked second in the table, level on points with toppers Chennai Super Kings after eight matches.
With six wins from eight matches, Delhi Capitals have been nothing short of fantastic. They’d want to pick things up from where they were left off against a struggling SRH outfit. It must be mentioned here that Rishabh Pant was handed the captaincy of the side in the absence of Shreyas Iyer who was out with a serious shoulder injury.
However, with the tournament getting postponed Iyer is now back in contention in the side but Delhi Capitals have made it clear that they wish to continue with Pant as captain for the time being.
Head coach Ricky Ponting too spoke about the maturity of the 23-year-old and how he has grown in leaps and bounds over the last couple of seasons. “Rishabh’s level of maturity in the last two seasons has gone through the roof.
When I first came in, he just burst onto the scene. I had said we are going to see the unearthing of someone who is going to play for India for a long time. I could see that coming. I could see how much he wanted to be in every Indian team. It will take a very good player to knock him off that Indian team,” Ponting said as reported by Indian Express.
The legendary former Australian captain also praised Rishabh Pant’s leadership of the group and how he has dealt with proceedings. If Delhi Capitals want to win their maiden Indian Premier League title, Pant will no doubt, play a crucial role in that.
“He has done a terrific job so far (leading DC in IPL). We are all striving for something special. This year we want to go one step further and Rishabh is going to play an integral part in that,” concluded Ponting.
