Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has supported Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) on their decision not to rush Rishabh Pant. The comments came amid reports Rishabh Pant will be free from wicketkeeping duties for the first few matches in the upcoming edition of the tournament. Gavaskar also said that Pant should only be reinstated as captain once he gains full fitness.
During a Star Sports event while talking about the students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ranchi, Sunil Gavaskar was quoted by the Times of India: “He certainly has the ability to think on his feet. If he gets back to full fitness, the reins of (Delhi Capitals) captaincy should be handed over to him. Let’s stay hopeful. This season is first of him coming back to full fitness. Let’s not rush him into doing something that there will be a setback.”
“Knee plays a pivotal role in batting as well as keeping — which, of course, he may not do initially. Maybe he won’t be the usual Rishabh Pant that we are used to seeing,” he further added.
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Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar also said that it would be a tough phase for Rishabh Pant to return to his best form. The cricketer-turned-commentator also gave credit to the wicketkeeper-batter for beginning training for the cash-rich league. However, Pant last played for India against Bangladesh in a Test match in December 2022 before his car accident on December 30 as well.
“I’m also a big fan of him. For me, the most important thing is that he should be healthy like before, so that he can come and entertain us. It will be very difficult for him and it will take some time for him to get that batting fluency. But good that he has started training,” he again stated.
Meanwhile, Gavaskar has also reacted cheekily to Virat Kohli’s absence from international cricket. He said this as the star batter skipped the ongoing five-match home Test series against England and the veteran reacted sarcastically that Kohli might not even play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Notably, Kohli is spending quality time with his family in London, UK as recently he and his wife Anushka Sharma welcomed a baby boy named Akaay, their second child. He also opined on Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep.
“Kya woh khelenge? kuch reason ke liye khel nahin rahe hain, shaayad ho sakta hai ki IPL ki liye bhi na khele (Will he play? He is not playing due to some reasons, maybe he might not play in IPL as well,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded. “He could be promoted up the order. Jurel could be the superstar after this performance in the Test matches. Even Akash Deep could get more exposure in RCB and play the role of the death over specialist which they were missing last season.”
