Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting on Thursday said captain Risha Pant is putting in extra effort to regain “trust” in his body in the upcoming IPL after he was sidelined due to a horrific accident 14 months. India wicketkeeper Pant suffered a near-fatal accident in December 2022, which resulted in a year-long recovery period and forced him to miss last year’s IPL. “He (Pant) probably batted more last week than he has batted in most IPL games. I think from his point of view, he wants to get a little bit more trust in his body again,” Pang Ting said about the captain’s approach in preseason training camp. “He put himself through a few different rhythms and hit all the shots he bowled. He was great and more importantly, he had a smile on his face, which is what we love to see,” added the former Australia team leader.

Ponting added that Pant has an infectious energy that makes his teammates follow him.

“We all love his infectious attitude and smile in the team. Although he is still young, he has actually played a lot of cricket. He sets the example, he has great energy and that’s why others tend to follow suit. ” DC director of cricket and former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Pant’s unconventional batting style also reflected in his captaincy.

“He’s not a conservative batsman so you would expect him to have that kind of character in the captaincy. No one comes in as a ready-made captain. You learn as you go and I think captaincy comes instinctively. I’m looking forward to that in the captaincy.” He was seen in tournaments,” Ganguly said.

He added that cricketers go through an emotional roller coaster during the recovery phase.

“I’m amazed at the progress he’s made. Hopefully it’s a good season for him because he’s been through a lot emotionally. It’s never easy when you go through an injury like this,” Ganguly explain.

“It’s great to see him back not only for Delhi Capitals but also for Delhi Ranji and Team India because he is a special talent, a special player,” Ganguly added. Delhi Capitals will begin their IPL campaign here on March 23 against Kings XI Punjab.

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