Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting wants regular skipper Rishabh Pant to sit next to him in the dugout every weekday during the upcoming Indian Premier League. Pant was injured in a car accident in the last week of December, due to which he will not be able to play in the IPL. India’s wicketkeeper and Delhi Capitals captain Pant is currently undergoing treatment in Mumbai.
Ponting said in the ICC review, “You can’t fill the place of a player like that.” Players like that are not born quickly. We are focusing on keeping a wicketkeeper-batsman in his place in the team.
“Even if he is not physically fit to play, we would still like him to be with the team. If he can travel and stay with the team, I would love to sit next to him in the dugout every day of the week.”
He Just Stayed With Us
Ponting said, “I would like to make sure that if he can be with the team when we meet in Delhi to start the camp in March, I would like him to be with us full-time.”
India has to play a four-Test series against Australia in February-March. After this, the final of the ICC World Test Championship can also be played between these two teams in June. Ponting said that India would miss Pant against Australia. He said, “I think he is among the world’s top six or seven batsmen. Is it like that?”
Rishabh Pant is ranked seventh in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings. Ponting said, “When he started, we all thought he would prove to be a better T20 and ODI batsman than a Test batsman, but the opposite happened. His Test cricket record is excellent.”
He said, “There is a four-Test series against Australia, and we know how he performed against Australia last time in Australia. The cricket world wanted to see him playing in this series.”
