Rishabh Pant will captain Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021. The regular captain Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. Shreyas Iyer dislocated his left shoulder during the first ODI between India vs England at Pune.
Fifth-Youngest Captain In IPL
At the age of 23, Rishabh Pant will be the fifth-youngest captain in IPL after Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, Suresh Raina, and Shreyas Iyer. Virat Kohli and Steve Smith captained their team at the age of 22. While, Suresh Raina and Shreyas Iyer were also 23, but younger than Rishabh Pant in terms of days. Delhi Capitals bought Rishabh Pant before IPL 2016. Rishabh Pant was bought for INR 1.9 crore in the 2016 auction. In 2018, Rishabh got INR 15 crore.
Though Rishabh Pant is inexperienced as captain, he has only led Delhi in the domestic tournament. However, he has shown tremendous potential and been in an amazing form. He was the match-winner in the historic Gabba Test against Australia in January 2021. Rishabh also played a match-winning century against England at the fourth Test. He played a crucial role in winning the series against England in all three formats.
Rishabh Pant Was The Frontrunner For Captaincy
Many senior players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin are in the team, still, Rishabh Pant was the frontrunner for the captaincy. Rishabh Pant was humbled to take on the captaincy. He said it was a dream when he started playing for the franchise. In a Delhi Capitals media release, he said,
“Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I’ve always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled.”
Shreyas Iyer also said in the media release, “I had no doubt that Rishabh would be the best man for the job.” The franchise co-owners Kiran Kumar Grandhi and Parth Jindal along with the Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting have collectively taken the decision to appoint Rishabh Pant as a captain. Ricky Ponting said,
“This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility.”
Delhi Capitals had good last two years in IPL. In 2019, the team reached the Qualifiers and in 2020, Delhi Capitals reached the final of the IPL for the very first time. Though the absence of Shreyas Iyer is a huge loss to Delhi Capitals, still they have the players who can be match-winners on any particular day.
Delhi Capitals Squad
Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Pravin Dubey, Chris Woakes, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Hussain Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings
Delhi Capitals will start their campaign against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Mumbai on April 10, 2021. Congratulations Rishabh Pant for becoming a captain of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021. May you impress the people with your leadership quality as well.
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