Ponting wants Rishabh Pant to accompany Delhi Capitals during IPL

Rishabh
Pant
suffered
a
horrible
accident
on
December
30
while
travelling
to
his
hometown
Roorkee.
The
player
survived
without
any
internal
organ
injuries,
but
damaged
his
knee
and
underwent
cosmetic
surgeries.

Who
is
better
between
Kohli
and
Tendulkar?
Sourav
Ganguly
gives
his
verdict

His
knee
injury
was
so
grave
that
the
player
had
to
go
through
another
surgery
in
Mumbai
and
that
may
reportedly
keep
him
out
of
the
field
for
the
next
18
months.

Pant
is
the
captain
of
the
Delhi
Capitals
in
the
IPL
and
his
absence
will
be
a
major
blow
to
the
franchise.
But
former
Australia
captain
Ricky
Ponting
wants
the
southpaw
to
be
with
the
team
even
if
he
is
unable
to
play.

“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,”
Ponting
said
to

The
ICC
Review.

“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,”
he
added.

Ricky
Ponting
explains
why
Rishabh
Pant’s
absence
will
be
a
massive
loss
for
India
during
their
upcoming

#WTC23
series
against
Australia.

More
????

https://t.co/2kI8pjE76Q#TheICCReview
pic.twitter.com/7nhUi7HP8v

—
ICC
(@ICC)

January
22,
2023

The
Indian
wicketkeeper
is
an
adored
character
and
his
accident
has
been
a
matter
of
concern
for
India
as
well.
With
the
World
Cup
set
to
be
played
later
this
year,
India
will
have
to
look
for
potential
replacements
for
the
swashbuckling
batter.

And
Ricky
Ponting
has
seen
Pant
grow
as
a
captain
and
player
during
his
stint
with
the
Delhi
Capitals,
and
the
former
Australia
skipper
heaped
his
love
for
the
player.

“I
absolutely
love
the
bloke,
I
told
him
that
on
the
phone
the
last
couple
of
days,”
Ponting
added.

“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,” he
further
said.

Rishabh
Pant
will
miss
IPL
2023,
as
the
DC
director
of
cricket
Sourav
Ganguly
confirmed
earlier.
But
it
is
to
be
seen
if
Pant
can
be
involved
in
any
capacity
during
the
course
of
the
tournament.