When Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals' captain and wicket-keeper batsman, was hurt in a vehicle accident in December of last year, it dealt a devastating blow to the team. After Pant was declared out for nearly 17–18 months, the Capitals faced two challenges: selecting a captain who was qualified and acquiring a wicket-keeper who could also offer consistency in the middle order.
Experienced David Warner, who has previously served as the captain of an IPL club, was chosen by the DC team. The squad, however, has had a difficult season, losing five of the seven games they have played. The next match they have is against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
We had a somewhat difficult start. If you examine our performances, you will see that we did not play 40 overs of high-quality cricket. We sometimes play well with the bat but poorly with the ball, and on other occasions we play really well with the ball but poorly with the bat. It is a very thin line between failure and success in T20 cricket, which can frequently occur, said DC coach Ricky Ponting at the pre-game press conference.
In a press conference prior to the game, DC coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged that finding a replacement for Pant is not simple and stated, “What happened to Rishabh was not in our control. He is the lifeblood of our team, and we miss him every day. It's not simple to try to take Rishabh's position. Abhishek Porel, who joined the squad only prior of the tournament, was a “calculated gamble” the team made.
Porel is more suited to bat near the top of the order, according to Ponting, but it may be challenging to find a spot for him in the starting XI. “Porel was a part of the group from the start, and we decided after the first game that we wanted to give him a couple of opportunities,” he said.
Sarfaraz Khan was also employed by the squad as the wicketkeeper, although Ponting said that “it didn't really matter. We wanted to give him the chance to demonstrate his abilities. There's a potential he may develop into the wicket-keeper batter if he continues to improve on his fielding, Ponting said.
With just two victories between them, DC and SRH are now the two clubs in last position in the points standings.
