Delhi Capitals, on Tuesday, appointed Rishabh Pant as their new captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The wicket-keeper batsman will step in as skipper for the 14th model of the match as widespread skipper Shreyas Iyer injured his left shoulder.
The elevation comes after a memorable four months for the wicketkeeper-batsman as he became a match-winner for the Indian Test team and made a rousing comeback to the Indian limited-overs winning India games after games.
Mohammad Azharuddin Makes Bold Prediction On Rishabh Pant’s Future
Former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammed Azharuddin, who played out 334 ODIs and 99 Tests for India, said he won’t be surprised if selectors see Pant as an alternative for Indian captaincy inside the near future.
“Rishabh Pant has had such fabulous few months, establishing himself in all formats. It won’t come as a surprise if the selectors see him as a front-runner in Indian captaincy in near future. His attacking cricket will stand India in good stead in times to come,” Azharuddin tweeted.
Despite having proven captaincy material like Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith in their ranks, and a senior veteran like Ravichandran Ashwin who led Kings XI Punjab two years ago, Capitals stuck to their 23-year-old Pant. The franchise went for a young captain in Iyer in 2018 and allowed him to grow into the job. They have taken a similar approach with Pant this time.
Of his new role, Pant said in a statement, “Delhi is where I grew up and where my IPL journey began six years ago. Leading this team someday is a dream I have. always nurtured. And today, as this dream comes true, I feel humbled. I am truly grateful, especially to our team leaders, who deemed me capable enough for this role. With an amazing coaching staff and a plethora of accomplished seniors around me, I’m looking forward to the absolute best for Delhi’s capitals”.
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting moreover feels captaincy will make Pant a higher participant. The former Australia skipper moreover said Pant deserves to steer the franchise looking at his present performances.
“RishabhPant17 is seizing this opportunity. It is well deserved for his recent performances and he is coming with a lot of confidence. I have no doubts that the captain will make him an even better player,” Ponting tweeted. India will be searching for a new captain post-Virat Kohli era and most likely contenders would be KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.
