IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant to captain Delhi Capitals as Shreyas Iyer out with injury
Rishabh Pant Delhi Capitals marquee player and wicketkeeper of Team India, has also become the captain of his IPL franchise. Pant has been handed the captaincy in the IPL 2021 by Delhi Capitals after Shreyas Iyer’s injury, Pant has been given this big responsibility. Shreyas Iyer was injured during the ODI series against England. According to the news, Shreyas Iyer will have shoulder surgery and he will not be able to get on the cricket field for the next 3-4 months. This is the reason that Delhi Capitals have given the responsibility of captaincy to Rishabh Pant.
Many other legendary players were also present for captaincy fray of Delhi Capitals. Which includes R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith. However, Delhi Capitals Management reposed confidence in Pant. Pant was the vice-captain of Delhi Capitals and after Iyer was injured, it was considered that he would be named captain in case of prolonged injury to Iyer and the same happened.
Rishabh Pant will be the 12th captain of Delhi Capitals. Before them, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, James Hopes, Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner, Kevin Pietersen have led this team. Apart from this, JP Duminy, Zaheer Khan, Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer have also captained the team.
Head coach of Delhi Capitals Ricky Ponting explained why Rishabh Pant was decided to be the captain. Ricky Ponting said that after Pant’s strong performances in Australia and England series, it was decided to make him captain. Ponting said, “This is a great opportunity for Rishabh Pant, who is now confident after performing brilliantly against Australia and England.” His performance will give him confidence for this new role.
Rishabh Pant’s record for Delhi Capitals
The swashbuckling batsmen made his IPL debut in the year 2016 and Delhi Capitals had bet on this south paw. Pant justified the Delhi Capitals’ trust. Pant has scored 2079 runs in 68 matches for Delhi at an excellent average of 35.23. Pant’s strike rate is 151.97, which is excellent. Also, Pant scored an unbeaten 128 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the year 2018, which is also his best score. Pant has also scored 12 half-centuries in the IPL.
