David Warner To Continue As DC Captain If Rishabh Pant Remains Unavailable For IPL 2024
David Warner in action for Delhi Capitals during IPL 2023 (BCCI)
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed that David Warner will continue as captain of the franchise for the forthcoming IPL 2024 season if Rishabh Pant remains unavailable for the tournament.
Warner was appointed as Delhi Capitals skipper ahead of IPL 2023 after Pant was ruled out owing to the injuries he sustained during a near-fatal car accident. Under the leadership of the Australian opener, the franchise managed to secure just five wins from 14 games and finished at number nine on the IPL 2023 points table.
Warner to lead in Pant’s absence, confirms Ponting
On February 7, Delhi Capitals head coach and former cricketer Ricky Ponting confirmed that David Warner will continue to captain the franchise if Rishabh Pant fails to recover in time for the tournament.
However, the situation will unlikely come to the fore as Pant has been tipped by several experts to make his return to competitive cricket through the IPL 2024. Moreover, Ponting himself expressed his confidence in Pant's possible return and the latter's eagerness to compete again. In a recent interview, Ponting said:
“Rishabh is very confident that he's going to be right to play. In what capacity we're not quite sure yet. You would have seen all the social-media stuff, he's up and about and running well. But in saying that we're only six weeks away from the first game as well.”
In a scenario where the Indian wicketkeeper fails to attain full recovery, David Warner's presence is pretty much confirmed for the entire tournament, considering the dashing Australian opener recently announced his exit from Tests and ODI cricket.
Rishabh Pant slumped to multiple injuries during his unfortunate car crash in December 2022. The Indian stumper was ruled out of India's entire cricketing calendar for 2023, and also from his team's home T20I series against Afghanistan and the ongoing Test series against England.
He spent much of his time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is currently eyeing a comeback for IPL 2024, which serves as a prelude to India's much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in West Indies this year.
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