Former Australia worldwide Ricky Ponting has actually opened regarding his love for young Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant following the latter’s mishap on the Delhi-Dehradun freeway in December 2022.
Ponting, talking on The ICC Review, exposed that he has actually remained in consistent touch with Pant throughout the 25-year-old’s recuperation.
“I absolutely love the bloke, I told him that on the phone the last couple of days. It was a horrifying time, a really scary time for everybody, let alone him. Anyone that knows him loves him – he’s a really infectious young guy that has the world at his feet still. So we will keep our fingers crossed and hope that he can get back to playing sooner rather than later,” claimed Ponting.
The ex-spouse-Australia captain really feels that Pant need to use up a duty together with him in the dugout of Delhi Capitals (DC) throughout this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL)
According to records, Pant would certainly be out of activity for greater than 6 months as well as might fly to London to recoup totally from his numerous injuries. Therefore, Ponting has actually additionally begun taking a look at the substitutes to offset the loss of his celebrity gamer.
“You can’t replace those guys, simple as that. They don’t grow on trees, players like that. We’ve got to look at – and we already are – a replacement to come into the squad, a wicketkeeper-batsman,” included Ponting.
The Aussie proceeded: “I want him sitting beside me in the dugout every day of the week.
“If he’s actually not physically fit enough to play, we’d still love to have him around. He’s the sort of cultural leader around the group, being the captain, and that attitude and infectious smile and laugh he has is what we all love so much about him.
“If he’s actually able to travel and be around the team, then I want him sitting beside me in the dugout every day of the week. I’ll certainly be making sure, come the middle of March when we get together in Delhi and start our camps and stuff, if he’s able to be there, then I want him around the whole time,” the Australian legend clarified.
With the Pant-Ponting mix at the helm, DC completed fifth in IPL 2022 as well as shed in Qualifier 2 of the 2021 version.
