The speculation around who will lead the Delhi Capitals in the new Indian Premier League season was put to bed by the franchise on Tuesday when they named Rishabh Pant their captain for the upcoming season.
In a video shared by the franchise which was captioned, “COMEBACK DONE NOW WELCOME BACK, CAPTAIN RISHABH PANT,” the captaincy decision was confirmed. Last year, the Capitals were led by David Warner and finished 9th in the league.
Pant was out of action for 14 months after suffering a horrific car accident in December 2022.
COMEBACK DONE 👉🏼 NOW WELCOME BACK, CAPTAIN RISHABH PANT 💙❤️#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/wN7xDgLW31
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 19, 2024
“We are delighted to welcome Rishabh back as our captain. Grit and fearlessness have always dictated his brand of cricket, and not surprisingly, even his road to recovery. I can’t wait to see him walk our team out once again as we look forward to a new season with renewed passion, vigour and enthusiasm,” said DC chairman and co-owner Parth Jindal in a media release.
Pant, who last featured in a competitive game in December 2022, played some practice games and will be available for Delhi Capitals’ opening match against Punjab Kings at Mohali which is scheduled for March 23, with the T20 World Cup on the horizon as well.
The 26-year-old took 14 months to recover before being certified as fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
“I feel very close to normal,” he conceded in a video shared by the BCCI.
In another video, the batter was seen back in practice in the nets in which he was seen practicing lofted shots on the leg-side and a reverse-sweep.
The near-fatal accident near Roorkee, Uttarakhand had left Pant with a ligament tear in his right knee and two cuts on his forehead and the 26-year-old has remained out of competitive cricket action since.
“First time in my life I felt like my time in this world was up. During the accident, I was aware of the wounds, but I was lucky as it could have been even more serious. I was feeling that someone saved me.” Pant had told Star Sports.
I asked the doctor how long will it take for me to recover, and he said it would take 16-18 months. I knew I had to work hard to cut this recovery time,” he had added.
.