India action batsman/wicket keeper Rishabh Pant, who miraculously survived the Delhi car accident, will not play in the upcoming IPL 2023 series as he is undergoing treatment. But Ricky Ponting, the Australian coach of the team, has expressed his desire to have Rishabh Pant, the captain of Delhi Capitals, by his side.
In an interview with ICC Review, Ponting said, “Rishabh Pant is sitting next to me and the rest of the players in the dressing room, every day.
A culture leader of this team is Rishabh Pant. His attitude, his infectious smile and his charm…he’s got everything we love about him. When the team starts training and camp in mid-March, if I can have Rishabh Bundy, I would like to have him with me all the time,” Ponting said in his own style of Rishabh Bundy’s absence.
A car accident requires 3 surgeries on the knee alone, 2 of which have been completed and one more to go. Ponting, who says Rishabh Pant’s position is difficult to fill, says how difficult it is to find someone equal to him.
“Finding a replacement for a player like Rishabh Pant is not easy, players like him don’t grow on trees. But we have to find a replacement anyway,” says Ponting.
Who will fill the punt position?
None of the 5 players picked up by Delhi Capitals in the December auction for IPL 2023 are wicketkeepers. England’s Phil Salt can fill his place. Sarbaraz Khan has been a part-time wicketkeeper for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
It seems that the IPL 2023 series will start at the end of March and will be held throughout April and May.
