Delhi Capitals’ (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has opined that the team is yet to zero in on the wicketkeeper for the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The left-handed Rishabh Pant won’t be a part of the upcoming IPL after the freak car accident he suffered on the Delhi-Dehradun highway a couple of months ago.
Ponting admitted that Pant’s absence has created a huge loophole in the DC team. Even as the Capitals named David Warner as their skipper for the IPL edition, they are yet to find an apt replacement for Pant.
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During a chat with the reporters, Ricky Ponting said, “We haven’t decided yet. That’s what the practice games are all about. That’s obviously another hole that Rishabh leaves even with the impact player rule that’s coming into the IPL. There are lots of players with us, you can think about using different players and wicketkeeper.”
He further added, “Right now, we have had some guys on trial in Kolkata. Some of the keepers were there training for the last five or six days. We will have a look at those guys in the practice games.”
Ponting also shared an update on Sarfaraz Khan, who sustained a finger injury, which ruled him out of the Irani Cup match against Madhya Pradesh. Ponting said that having undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy, Sarfaraz has regained fitness.
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Explaining the same, Ricky Ponting said, “He will be joining us today and he has been at the NCA for the last few weeks, recovering from that fractured finger.”
The Capitals are scheduled to play their opening game of the IPL 2023 against KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, April 1 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.