IPL 2021 | Firebrand Pant-Ruthless Ponting can just be the combo Delhi Capitals always needed

In the early hours of March 30, the host broadcaster of the Indian Premier League—Star Sports released the promo of the upcoming edition featuring Rishabh Pant in which he is saying ‘purana kyu dekhe, apne experience khud banaenge, ye India ka apna mantra hai’ in Hindi. What Pant said can be translated to ‘why should we look back at the past, we’ll make our own experience, and that is India’s own mantra.’ 

Fittingly for the day and Pant himself, his IPL franchise the Delhi Capitals stamped on his name to be the captain for the upcoming season, replacing an injured Shreyas Iyer. Now his franchise has handed him the perfect opportunity he could have asked for to walk the talk on having his ‘own experience,’ instead of ‘relooking at the past.’

Being named the captain of the side that provided him with the opportunity to what he has now become is almost poetic justice to the turnaround he has brought in his career from the brink of oblivion.

For this, the franchise should also get plaudits as they did not walk away from their idea of playing fire with fire. Since the time Gautam Gambhir opted out of the leadership position and the baton was passed on to Shreyas Iyer in the 2018 edition, the franchise has played with an all-aggressive brand of cricket. Hence, when they were sold down the river by another captaincy riddle, they carried on their tried and test formula of banking on matching fire with fire than attempting to douse it.

Also, going to Pant for captaincy should not have been a big question as he was already the vice-captain of the side. But they would have introspected on how much can they risk on a player who puts so much on the line. Turned out, they put all their weight behind him for the upcoming edition.

Pant is coming to IPL on the back of pulling off things that are the stuff of ridiculousness. He has driven Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on the up at the Gabba, reverse swept James Anderson with the new ball and treated Jofra Archer like some average bowler in T20Is over the last four months post-IPL 2020.

Rishabh Pant: From almost an enigma to audacious match-winner

The big question before the franchise and the coach Ricky Ponting would have been that whether the left-hander has leadership skills to keep the team together for a two-month-long tournament where they will see a lot of ups and downs.

There, Ponting played true to his character and did not hold back with a sensible choice of putting his money on reliable and proven leaders such as Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith. They are doubtful starters for the playing XI, but even with their best, Ponting would have gone for Pant for the sheer brand of cricket that brings to the table for the Capitals.

Ponting’s brand of cricket has rubbed onto the players and thought process of the team. In the last season, when the top order was in mess due to the cautious approach taken by Shikhar Dhawan and the technical frailties of Prithvi Shaw, Ponting opted for a change—but in personnel, not approach. 

Dhawan was nudged to throw caution into winds and Shaw was dropped for a belligerent Marcus Stoinis and the duo started dazzling to put Capitals on track for the path of playoffs.

Great T20 teams such as the current England team in the leadership of Eoin Morgan and the Mumbai Indians in the command of Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardena have decoded the ‘mantra’ of prolonged success in the shortest format. 

Ponting, too, is made up of the same mettle since his playing days and has led a turnaround off the Capitals off the field in the last few seasons.

However, one missing jigsaw puzzle of Capitals has been the temperament of players on the big stage of playoffs. The players, however successful they were in the league stages of the tournament have not arrived with the same mindset and approach in the business stage of the tournament and the team has suffered great embarrassments in the playoffs of IPL.

Last year too, they were blown away by the Mumbai Indians on two occasions in the playoffs as the batting collapsed like the house of cards in the first Qualifier. The situation was not different at the top in the big final before Pant, in the company of Iyer, showed signs of ownership on the big state to put them back in the reckoning.

Now, both Ponting and Pant are on the same page and both of them have an established quality of not bothering about the outcome of their intent and take the challenge head-on, irrespective of what is at stake. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility. The coaching group is excited to work with him, and we can’t wait for the season to get started,” Ponting said in the statement released by the franchise.

Statistically, Pant has had excellent times in series deciders coming into the IPL 2021 and Ponting will do anything but curb his mindset before and during the tournament.

Maybe, the Capitals have found the perfect combination to unlock the full potential of their side before embarking on their 14th journey for an elusive maiden IPL title.