Newly-appointed Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant cannot wait for his captaincy stint to start especially due to the fact that his first match as a captain will be against his childhood idol Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings play their first match on 10th April at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Pant who was elevated as the DC skipper is hoping to use “learnings” from Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a bid to upstage him in their opening match of the competition.
“My first match as captain will be against Mahi (MS Dhoni) 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,” Pant was quoted as saying in a press release by the Delhi Capitals.
Pant had a forgettable time with the bat during the previous edition of the Indian Premier League. With the lockdown and players not able to practice much, Pant gained a lot of weight which affected his batting quite a lot. He was nowhere close to the same Rishabh Pant which we had seen in the previous seasons. However, he made a commendable comeback in the tour to Australia where he played a couple of series changing knocks.
He played a sensational knock in the fourth and the final Test in Gabba which resulted in a historic series win for India Down-Under. He went from strength to strength and was at his stupendous best during the Test series against England. He smashed his first Test century at home and some of his shots oozed class and confidence. The southpaw had a great time with the bat in the limited-overs series as well and he will surely look to take the confidence to the IPL and hope to lead DC to their first IPL title.
“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 per cent and is happy in the team environment, and that’s what you want as a Captain,” Pant said.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is the current head coach of the Delhi Capitals. Speaking on his influence in the team, Pant said that his presence always boosts the team to go and perform. He hopes to win the title with the help of Ponting and the whole team.
“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.”