IPL 2023: Ricky Ponting Confirms Rishabh Pant’s Replacement at Delhi Capitals

IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting admits that he will miss having Rishabh Pant by his side in the dugout every match in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023). Pant will remain on the sidelines for the 2023 season as he recovers from the multiple injuries sustained last year when he met a horrific car accident.

Ahead of the start of the IPL 2023, the Capitals dealt a massive blow as skipper Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the tournament. The wicket-keeper batter met with a tragic accident in December last year and has been deemed unfit to play cricket for 7-8 months. Recently, Delhi Capitals made an official announcement stating that in Pant’s absence, David Warner will be leading the franchise in the 2023 season of IPL. Axar Patel will be his deputy. Under the new leadership of David Warner, the Capitals would be looking to win their first title. 

IPL 2023: Sarfaraz Is in Line to Replace Pant as a Specialist Wicket-Keeper Batter in the Team

Speaking about the forthcoming season, DC’s head coach Ricky Ponting 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. 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 (to zero in on playing lineup).”

While DC has found Pant’s replacement as captain in Warner, it is still unclear who’ll keep the wickets for the Capitals. The franchise has two options Sarfaraz Khan and Philip Salt. DC might be tempted to go with the aggressive English keeper but considering that the team can play only four overseas players, it might not be possible to play him. Now they are only left with one option which is Sarfaraz Khan.

The Mumbai-based cricketer is a quality batter. He has been consistently scoring runs in the domestic circuit and can be a perfect replacement for the team. The 25-year-old was recently spotted training in DC camp, where he was doing the keeping drills which can well be an indication that he will perform the role of the keeper-batter in the team.