Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly has said that a player of Rishabh Pant’s calibre will “always be back” and must “heal properly” before staging a return.
“Anybody would miss Rishabh Pant. I am sure the national team is missing him as well. But it’s unfortunate what has happened. He is young, so he has got a lot of time left in his career. I have always said that he is a special player and I have not hidden that,” Ganguly said during a pre-season camp at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Also read – IPL 2023: Ricky Ponting Rues Rishabh Pant’s Absence, Yet To Take ‘Keeper Call
“I wish he (Pant) comes back. Whatever time it takes, he must heal properly and come back. There is no hurry because someone as brilliant as him will always be back,” Ganguly added.
The dashing wicketkeeper-batsman sustained severe injuries after being involved in a car crash on Delhi-Dehradun highway near Roorkee late last year. The accident has put him out of action indefinitely. Australia’s David Warner, who has led Sunrisers Hyderabad with great success and guided them to the IPL title in 2016, will take over the baton of captaincy from Pant.
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting also emphasised the importance of Pant while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a team event in Delhi on Friday. “In an ideal world for me, he’d be sitting next to me in the dugout,” Ponting said.
“He is the heart and soul of the Delhi Capitals, he is a Delhi boy, he is our leader,” Ponting opined. “I have spoken to Rishabh Pant in the last few months. Also have tried to give him his own time and space. Obviously, it’s a very, very difficult time that he is going through right now. It is going to be a long recovery, a long way back to playing, hopefully, international cricket again.”
Also read – Ahead of IPL 2023 Rishabh Pant Gets Surprise Visit From Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth
Delhi Capitals get their 2023 season underway with an away match against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1. Ganguly said he was looking forward to the start of the IPL and that the team’s youngsters need match time.
“They Look very good. They need match time. Nets are good but match is most important. They have been with me before the start of this camp thrice. So I have worked with them there. We want to get into match mode,” he said.
Ganguly was effusive in his praise for the support staff. “He (Ponting) is fantastic. What a career he has had. You (can) see the intensity. Hopesy (fast bowling coach James Hopes) has been brilliant for Delhi. Good to have (assistant coach) Ajit (Agarkar), good to have (Shane) Watson (assistant coach). Pravin Amre (assistant coach) works very very hard. He worked hard with me in the camps as well. We just need to turn it into performance,” the former Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India captain said.
He added that captain Warner has a lot of runs and experience behind him, is always up for any challenge and is looking forward to doing well in his new role.
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