Rishabh Pant to be given special reception during Indian T20 League 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium
Delhi have not won an Indian T20 League title.
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Mar 31, 2023 1:38 pm
Rishabh Pant and Arun Jaitley Stadium (Source: Twitter)
The Delhi fans might get to see Rishabh Pant for their home games this season. The director of the Delhi District Cricket Association, Shyam Sharma said that the association is ready to provide all the assistance needed. This means Pant could be present at Delhi’s games which will take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Delhi will play their first game against Lucknow on April 1. Delhi’s first home game is against Gujarat on April 4.
Ricky Ponting had expressed his wish to see Pant in the dugout for Delhi’s home fixtures. “We are ready to host Rishabh Pant at the ground if he feels okay and Delhi Capitals allows it. We will take care of everything for him, be it picking him up from home or dropping him back. We will also create a special ramp till the dugout for his access,” Sharma said as quoted by NDTV Sports.
Having him in the dugout will be special – Ricky Ponting
“I have spoken to Rishabh a bit. We are hoping to get him involved this season. I would love to have him at all our home games. Having him in our dugout or our change room will be very special. However, David Warner will do a great job. He has been a successful franchise cricket captain in the past. He’s excited to lead the team as well,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the Delhi franchise.
Axar Patel is the vice-captain for this season. Sourav Ganguly has also joined the Delhi side as director of cricket. Ganguly was also a part of the setup in 2019 in the capacity of a mentor. With Pant ruled out, it remains to be seen who will keep wickets for Delhi. Sarfaraz Khan could be an option. The franchise could look at an overseas option in Phil Salt as well. But if Salt keeps wickets, the balance of the side could be hampered.
Warner won a title for Hyderabad in the 2016 season. He will hope to repeat history at Delhi. Warner played for Delhi during the initial stages of his Indian T20 League career. He had a fallout with Hyderabad in 2021. The Australian moved back to Delhi in the 2022 auction.
