David Warner, the Delhi Capitals (DC) batter, is encouraging Rishabh Pant to take his time to fully recover from the injuries sustained in a vehicle accident last December. In Pant’s place, Warner will be heading DC during the 2023 IPL. Pant, who won’t be able to join the present IPL, has a challenging healing process ahead and likely won’t take part in any cricket games this year. This means he’ll also miss out on the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June and the 2023 ODI World Cup in India later this year.
Ahead of the Capitals’ opening IPL 2023 game against the Lucknow Super Giants, Warner spoke to the Times of India, expressing his thoughts:
“He’s looking forward to supporting us as much as he can. I’m sure he’ll try his best to come and see us. But we want him to recover, take it slow and easy and get better as fast as he can.”
David Warner is an extremely successful IPL player, having scored the third-most runs in the history of the league. He also served as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad, leading them to their one and only IPL title victory in 2016.
Axar will help me deal with the language barrier: Warner
Warner mentioned that Axar Patel would be an important asset to the team as vice-captain and asked for the fans to show their support in large numbers. He added:
“Axar will have great knowledge about all the players in the squad. He’ll be in control of relaying information to the bowlers and also help me deal with the language barrier.
“You get to understand the wicket at your home ground. The fans’ chats in the stadium will give us great strength and belief to play our best.”
Mitchell Marsh is expected to be a major contributor to Delhi’s success in the upcoming season alongside Warner.