Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting has provided the latest update on Rishabh Pant and his fitness ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024. Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting has said that Rishabh Pant has started wickekeeping at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
This comes as a huge boost for the DC and India fans who were eagerly waiting for an update on the India cricketer. Pant has not played any form of cricket since his near-fatal accident in December 2022. Pant fell in a car accident while driving alone from New Delhi to Roorkee and was forced to go through a tough phase of surgeries and rehab in the past 15 months.
Ponting, the head coach of DC said that the management was yet to make a call on if Rishabh will be able to play full time in the IPL 2024 but there is no doubt that the keeper had put in a tremendous amount of effort to make progress.
“It’s a big decision we’ll have to make because if he is fit, you’d think he’d step straight back into that captaincy role,” Ponting said.
“If he’s not entirely fit and we have to use him in a slightly different role, then we’ve got some decisions to make there,” Ponting added.
Rishabh Pant Has Started Keeping: Ponting
Delhi Capitals play their first IPL match on 23 March. Asked if Pant will be fit by that time, Ponting relieved Rishabh’s progress at the NCA. It also needs to be mentioned that sources have confirmed India Today that Rishabh Pant has been given match-ready certificate by the NCA in the first week of March.
“He’s actually played some practice matches over the last couple of weeks, which has been really encouraging for us,” Ponting said.
“I know he’s worked incredibly hard on his body and his fitness to get back to the level that he’s at now. He’s kept in one of those games, he’s fielded in these games and the batting hasn’t seemingly been an issue for him so far,” Ponting added.
“We’ve obviously had worries and concerns that he might not have made it in time to be ready for the IPL this year. I mean, he was a huge loss for us last year and what he went through, we can’t even begin to describe what he’s been through the last 12 or 14 months,” concluded the legendary cricketer.
In Rishabh’s absence in IPL 2023, David Warner led the team. Delhi were poor in the previous season and finished in the 9th spot among 10 teams. There were glaring holes for DC in the batting line-up in the absence of Pant, which they would like to fix this season.
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