IPL 2023: To Make Rishabh Pant Part Of Delhi Capitals Team, Ricky Ponting's Unique Idea

Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant is on the road to recovery following his car accident in December last year. Pant, however, will miss the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and in his absence, David Warner will lead the team. During an event in New Delhi, head coach Ricky Ponting said that Pant was the heart and soul of the franchise. He revealed that the players might don Pant's jersey number on their shirts or caps, as a tribute to the star player.

"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," Ponting was quoted as saying by Times Now.

While Warner will fill in for Pant as captain, his replacement behind the sticks is yet to be finalised.

On being asked about the same, Ponting replied: "We haven't decided that yet. Sarfaraz (Khan) has joined us and we'll look at the practice games ahead to decide that. That's one big hole Rishabh leaves behind. With the impact player rule coming in, we can use a number of ways".

Delhi Capitals finished last season with seven wins from 14 games, occupying the fifth spot in the table. 

They will take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow in their opening game on April 1.

Topics mentioned in this article

Delhi Capitals Lucknow Super Giants Rishabh Pant Ricky Ponting David Warner IPL 2023 Cricket