After being involved in a horrible vehicle accident in late 2022, Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant is nearing a comeback to competitive cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter will play a significant role for his Indian Premier League (IPL) team, which placed ninth in the rankings last season without his participation.
After releasing 11 players, DC is aiming for a major rebuild and will have a lot of work to do at the forthcoming IPL 2024 mini-auction on December 19 in Dubai.
While the bulk of the franchise captains will be unable to attend the auction owing to overseas obligations, Rishabh Pant is not one of them.
According to SportsTak, the DC captain will be present at the auction table with head coach Ricky Ponting and director of cricket Sourav Ganguly, among other significant franchise officials.
DC need money to fix their team. They have Rs. 28.95 crore. They did not make the playoffs the last two years. They want big changes to do better next season.
Rishabh Pant on track to recover from injury and lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024
The news said Rishabh Pant might captain Delhi again next season. They will decide later if he plays full-time behind the stumps or comes in sometimes to make a difference. The cricket people who run everything will need to say it’s okay.
“If he is not keeping, he will definitely be on the field and will lead the side,” a franchise official stated.
With the departures of Phil Salt and Sarfaraz Khan, DC’s lone wicketkeeping option outside of Rishabh Pant is Abhishek Porel. Porel was a wicketkeeper for the franchise in the 2023 season, however he only scored 33 runs in four innings. As a result, DC will almost certainly look for another wicketkeeper in the forthcoming mini-auction.
Rishabh Pant’s realistic return may be in the IPL 2024, since he is unlikely to be healthy in time for the home Test series against England in January-February 2024.