Parth Jindal, one of the co-owners of the Delhi Capitals, has mentioned that they anticipate Rishabh Pant’s comeback for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). According to Jindal, Pant is likely to take on the role of team captain initially; however, he won’t be handling wicket-keeping duties.
Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal has officially announced that Rishabh Pant will be leading the team in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. This marks Pant’s highly anticipated comeback to competitive cricket following his unfortunate car accident in December 2022. Jindal added that, in the initial phase of the tournament, Pant will focus exclusively on his role as a batsman.
Jindal shared that Coach Ricky Ponting and Team Director Sourav Ganguly expressed optimism about Pant’s IPL start, pending the BCCI’s fitness clearance. According to him, Pant is expected to feature in the first seven games solely as a batter, with further plans contingent on his physical response.
“Rishabh is batting. He’s running. He has started his wicketkeeping. He is likely to be fully fit for the IPL. I am expecting Rishabh to play IPL and he will lead from match one. First seven games we are going to play him only as a batter and depending on how his body reacts, we will take a call for the rest of the IPL.” Jindal said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo.
Pant has been sharing videos, giving us a glimpse into his preparations for IPL 2024. After a serious car crash, he had to take a break from cricket, but now he’s gearing up to make a comeback with Delhi Capitals (DC). The team had a tough time in IPL 2023, finishing at the ninth spot under David Warner’s captaincy. The Delhi camp is thrilled to have Pant back as the captain, but they’re being cautious with the Indian star batter. It seems he won’t be taking up the wicketkeeping duties, at least for the first half of the tournament.
Jindal also shared his thoughts on pacer Anrich Nortje, who has been sidelined from cricket lately due to injury worries. The South African fast bowler, who was absent from the 2023 ODI World Cup, SA20, and the entire multi-format series against India at home, has faced a significant amount of time away from the game.
“He’s (Anrich Nortje) fit. Right now, he is bowing at 80% intensity. Next week, he will bowl at 100%. He’s going to make his comeback in the IPL. He is going to join our camp and should be good to go for our first game,” Jindal said.
On Thursday, February 22, the IPL 2024 partial schedule was unveiled, featuring fixtures for the initial two weeks. It was disclosed that Delhi’s first two home games would not be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital. This decision was made due to the unavailability of the stadium shortly after the conclusion of WPL 2024. As an alternative, Delhi has chosen to host these matches in Visakhapatnam.
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