Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Axar Patel believes DC captain Rishabh Pant has matured and grown more patient after his car accident in December 2022 and his time away from competitive cricket. However, Pant returned in IPL 2024 after undergoing surgeries, months of rehabilitation, and strength-building procedures as well.

“I think he’s more mature and patient now compared to the Rishabh Pant of 1.5 years ago,” Axar Patel told journalists at a DC event on Monday. “He speaks with a lot of maturity now. Earlier, he used to come and start by saying ‘Mai ye kardunga, mai vo karunga’ (I’ll do this, I achieve that). But now he understands that that’s not how it works so he shows a lot of patience and says ‘Mai time luunga, mai match finish karne ka dekhunga’ (I’ll take my time and try and finish the games).””Obviously, his natural game and shots are still there. But now I feel he’s more mature, calmer and doesn’t get too angry either about someone or the other doing something wrong.”

Overall, Rishabh Pant has 254 runs which came at an average of 36.29 and a strike rate of 150.30 this season. His wicketkeeping has been top-notch as well. However, Axar’s performance hasn’t been quite upto the mark either in IPL 2024 with the bat as well.

“Neither I have to think about these things, nor I have to make the selections. But obviously, I can’t say anything about that. As a player, all I know is that they won’t select just on the basis of the IPL. I have been playing T20s for India for the last couple of years. They know we have a set template and they’d pick according to which player fits which slots the best,” Axar Patel concluded.