IPL 2024: Rishabh Pant to Lead Delhi Capitals But Will Play Only as a Batter in First Half, Confirms Parth Jindal – News18

Rishabh Pant will captain Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 but will not be keeping wicket in the first half of the season, DC co-owner Parth revealed.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Parth Jindal said the Delhi Capitals coaching staff – including head coach Ricky Ponting and team director Sourav Ganguly were confident about Pant.

“Rishabh is batting. He’s running. He has started his wicketkeeping. He is likely to be fully fit for the IPL. I am expecting Rishabh to play IPL and he will lead from match one. First seven games we are going to play him only as a batter and depending on how his body reacts, we will take a call for the rest of the IPL,” Parth Jindal told ESPNcricinfo.

Pant had recently shared a video of his training session in which he was seen undergoing batting and wicketkeeping drills.

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Pant has been out of action for over a year, missing a host of major international tournaments after getting injured in a horrific car accident in December 2022. Pant suffered multiple injuries including cuts on forehead, bruises on back, damage to ankle. He underwent surgeries for ligament tears in his right knee.

He then underwent extensive rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

CricketNext had reported in December last year how BCCI isn’t going to rush Pant’s comeback despite him making a significant progress, getting closer to be match fit.

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Rishabh Pant’s last appearance in a competitive game was on December 22, 2022. In that fixture, India were up against Bangladesh in a Test. Since then, Pant has missed several premier tournaments including the IPL 2023, the World Test Championship and the ICC Cricket World Cup.