Ricky Ponting, coach of the Delhi Capitals, said Rishabh Pant, who was appointed skipper just a few seasons ago, has grown exponentially in maturity.
Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals coach, believes that his youthful captain, Rishabh Pant, has undergone a remarkable transformation. While he once performed in the role of a swashbuckling keeper-batsman, he has now grown into a leader of the pack. After Shreyas Iyer was injured and ruled out of IPL 2021, Pant was placed in charge of the Delhi Capitals for the first half of the tournament. On Tuesday, former cricketer Ricky Ponting described cricketer Rishabh’s maturity with a metaphor: “Rishabh’s level of maturity in the previous two seasons has gone through the roof.”
“When I first arrived, he emerged abruptly. I said we’d find someone who would be playing for India for a long time. I was certain of that. He really wished to be a part of every Indian national team.
“There’s only one guy who has a chance of taking his place on the Indian team.” Although they failed to win the IPL final against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi, DC was in the final under the leadership of Pant and he had led them to the final the season before as well.
“So far, he has done a fantastic job (leading DC in IPL). We are all fighting for something that we believe in. For the past few years, Rishabh has played a critical role in our success, and this year we’re going to put him to work in an even more meaningful way.”
Before the first stage of the season began in India this year, Ponting backed Pant, believing that Pant would relish the increased responsibility because of Iyer’s absence.
But DC prevailed over the other teams with six wins out of eight matches, before it had to stop its IPL campaign due to COVID-19 in the competition’s bio-bubble. This year, Pant believes that the squad merely needs to offer about 10 to 15 percent more effort than they did last year if they want to win their first championship.
“We’ve improved over last year. We have been spending a lot of time concentrating on how to do it. There is not much we need to change compared to last year. We can accomplish the same things while putting in 10-15% more effort “Speaking to the press the night before their first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pathan claimed.
Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer are notable new additions to the Australian team. Teammate Glenn Maxwell has said that he’s grateful for his decent support in the middle of the order because of them.
“The influence of Stoinis has been really great for us. He has incredible abilities to become a world-class specialist in white-ball cricket. Hetmyer, Stoinis, and Pant can finish games for us. That makes our batting lineup incredibly strong and deep.”
Shreyas’ return has reinvigorated the batting lineup, as he brings with him an additional asset in the form of his hard-hitting batting.
“I’m very glad he’s returned to the squad. He is a superb player who has shown his talent as a member of Delhi’s world-class team. Our crew seems a bit more finished with you.”
He stated that Shreyas’ arrival in the playing XI wouldn’t mess up their already impressive bowling lineup that has Kagiso Rabada and Andre Nortje as the team’s two primary South African bowlers.
Ponting stated that his team has a good feel and a positive environment leading up to their first match in the second stage of the league.
As many veterans on the team, like Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravichandran Ashwin, typically sit out, the head coach claimed that treating each player with equal respect had not presented a challenge in balancing player roles on the team.
“In our team, I treat everyone equally, and everyone understands their role. That’s our style: Treat everyone fairly. Our team is well-balanced: We have young players and veterans.
“And to round it out, we count on our elder players to take over for Rishabh in his weaker moments. So we make sure to include everyone on the trip.”
It’s a good sign for the team’s mindset, according to Pant, as their first-half performance is good, but he doesn’t know what happened in the previous season.
“We are more concerned with each match than how we’ve performed overall, and our emphasis is on remaining focused. We avoid discussing that as a team, and we put our emphasis on our process.
“When I’m in the zone on the court, I’m just making plays. I aim to get better at learning something new every day, no matter how much time I have to learn.”
Pant, in response to a question regarding his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s biggest lesson for him, stated, “focus on the process and results will follow.”
He made an important revelation when asked about his leadership abilities: “I just focus on keeping the atmosphere light. My friends can share any worries or concerns with me or Ricky.
We are moving forward because of the mix of youth and experience.”
Everyone ought to be treated equally in the team, even the staff members, and I learned that from Ricky.
Only then does anything truly exceptional happen, and, as a captain, that’s all you ever desire.” Ponting commented that the SRH is not a high-scoring team, but that they “believe in their defensive approach” and are always up for a fight.
“We believe we are ready. I am absolutely certain that our men will succeed.”
