Rishabh Pant, one of the most promising batsmen in the Indian cricket spectrum, suffered serious injuries in a car accident on December 30. The severity of the injuries was such that the goaltender batsman had to undergo surgeries. The situation rules him out for the entire Indian Premier League, and quite possibly, most of this year. But, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting wants the goalkeeper batter to be around him for the entire 2023 edition of the T20 league.
Ponting admitted that the Delhi Capitals are looking for a replacement in the market, but also conceded that players like Pant “don’t grow on trees”.
“You can’t replace those guys, simple as that. They don’t grow on trees, players like that. We have to find, and we already are, a replacement to enter the team, a batsman-goalkeeper,” Ponting said in The ICC Review.
The former Australia captain went on to say that he would love to have Pant in the Delhi Capitals camp, even if he is unfit to play.
“If he’s actually not physically fit enough to play, we’d still love to have him around. He’s the kind of cultural leader of the group, being the captain, and that attitude and that contagious smile and laugh that he has is what we all love so much about him. If he can really travel and be around the team, then I want him sitting next to me on the bench every day of the week. I will certainly make sure, in mid-March when we meet in Delhi and start our camps and stuff, if he can be there then I want him around all the time,” said the legendary Australian batsman.
The timeline of Pant’s return is unclear at this time. Seeing the cricketer play for India this year still seems like a distant dream.
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