Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has backed captain Rishabh Pant to do something “special” in the first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Kings XI Punjab (PBKS). Pant will make his return to cricket on Saturday when DC take on PBKS at the Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali. Pant suffered a life-threatening car accident in December 2022 and the DC captain has been sidelined since then. However, the 26-year-old has made a remarkable recovery during his recovery.
Ahead of the match against PBKS, Ponting revealed that he used force to drag Pant out of the nets on several occasions, adding that the DC captain was ready to be released.
“We had a week of training in Vizag before coming here and trust me, Rishabh is back and ready to play. He bats and moves beautifully behind the stumps. Sometimes he bats too much, I had to drag him out of the net,” Ponting said on the eve of DC’s first match.
“I’ve seen the level of play he has and don’t be surprised if something special happens tomorrow. His attitude and smile and what he wants to do for the team is infectious. Everyone wants to imagine Rishabh Same,” he added.
Pant, who is back after a long and grueling rehabilitation period following his horrific car accident in December 2022, said he was happy to be back on the 22-yard line.
“Nervous, nervous, excited…all that, but at the same time, I’m happy, to be back in professional cricket. I’m just looking forward to playing my first game tomorrow,” Pant said before the match said. The team’s first game of the season.
Pant, however, admitted that it will take time to get back to his old form and he wants to take long batting sessions with the Washington Nets once a day as it will give him a better chance to execute the wide-open strokes. .
“Every time I go out there, it’s a completely different feeling. I think as a batsman, as long as I can hit the ball, it’s better because the more I hit the ball, the better I’m going to be in The positioning to execute the shot, the muscle memory is still intact even though I haven’t played for almost a year and a half,” said the swashbuckling batsman.
“But I’ve been playing cricket since I was a kid, so it doesn’t go away that easily. So, the more I practice, the better chance I have of growing up as a cricketer,” he added.
(with PTI input)
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