My first match as captain will be against Mahi Bhai: Rishabh Pant

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see the young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant donning the skipper hat for the first time for his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC). Delhi’s regular skipper Shreyas Iyer succumbed to an injury while playing for India in an ODI match against England and the same resulted in the team appointing Pant as the new captain.

The young rookie’s first assignment as a leader will be against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 10 in Mumbai. Rishabh seemed excited about playing against Dhoni and reckoned that he will apply the experience he has gained from the former Indian captain. 

“My first match as captain will be against Mahi Bhai. It will be a good experience for me as I have learned a lot from him. I have my own experience as a player as well. I’ll apply my own experience and the learnings from MS Dhoni, and try to do something different against CSK,” Rishabh Pant was quoted as saying in a DC media release.

Further in the interaction, the 23-year-old expressed his gratitude to the coaches and the team management for having faith in his abilities and handing him the responsibility of leading the side. Pant also believes that the team will be able to cross the line this time to win their maiden IPL title as the players are in good mental space. 

“I would like to thank all the coaches and the owners for giving me this opportunity and I am looking forward to making most of this opportunity. We haven’t won a title yet and I will try my level best to get a title this year.

“We’ve been playing nicely as a team for last two-three years and our preparations are going on well. Everyone looks in a great frame of mind. Everyone is giving their 100 percent and is happy in the team environment, and that’s what you want as a captain,” Rishabh exclaimed.

Ricky Ponting has been so amazing for us in the last two to three years: Rishabh Pant

Ricky Ponting’s addition as Delhi’s head coach has done wonders for the team as under him the team reached the semi-finals in IPL 2019 followed by their maiden final appearance in IPL last year against Mumbai Indians. Speaking about the former Australian captain, Pant said that he brings a lot of experience to the team and the players learn a lot from him.

“He [Ricky] has been so amazing for us in the last two-three years. He brings energy to the team and as a player when you see your coach and you’re thinking this is the man from whom you can learn a lot, then nothing is better than that. Hopefully, we will cross the line this year, with the help of Ricky and the whole team,” Rishabh signed off.