Rishabh Pant, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, was involved in a car accident last December. While he is on the road to recovery, he will unfortunately miss the upcoming 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In his absence, David Warner has been appointed as the new captain of the franchise. However, DC head coach Ricky Ponting recently paid tribute to Pant, stating that he was the heart and soul of the team.
During an event in Delhi on March 24, Ponting spoke highly of Pant's contributions to the franchise. To honor him, the team management is considering wearing his jersey number on their shirts or caps.
“In an ideal world for me, he’d be sitting next to me in the dugout every match. But if that’s not possible, we’d like to make him part of the team in ways possible. We can have his number on our shirts or on caps. Just to make it clear that he’s our leader, even if he’s not with us,” Ponting said.
Warner has recently been appointed as the new captain for DC, however, the franchise has not yet made a decision on who will be the first-choice keeper to replace Pant.
“We haven’t decided that yet. Sarfaraz (Khan) has joined us and we’ll look at the practice games ahead to decide that. That’s one big hole Rishabh leaves behind. With the impact player rule coming in, we can use a number of ways,” he added.
The left-handed opener was acquired by DC for a whopping Rs 6.25 crore after being released by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Meanwhile, the talented all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain of the team.
Warner's impressive performance in his debut season for DC has earned him the coveted leadership role. He emerged as the highest run-scorer for the team, amassing 432 runs at an impressive average of 48 and a strike rate of 150.52, including five half-centuries.
DC will commence their IPL 2023 campaign with a thrilling encounter against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on April 1
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