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IPL 2023: Ricky Ponting opens up on Rishabh Pant's absence; confirms David Warner as an opener

IPL 2023 will see Rishabh Pant missing out for Delhi Capitals as he recovers from his car accident. With David Warner set to lead, Ricky Ponting has confirmed that the Australian would act as an opener.

IPL 2023: Ricky Ponting opens up on Rishabh Pant absence; confirms David Warner as an opener for delhi capitals-ayh
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First Published Mar 24, 2023, 5:57 PM IST

Rishabh Pant is irreplaceable in the Delhi Capitals (DC) set-up, and no one can bring in the requisite impact that he brings in, DC head coach Ricky Ponting said here on Friday, ahead of the team's upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Pant, who survived a horrific car crash last December, is out for an indefinite period, and if Ponting would have his way, he wants his favourite player to be beside him in the Delhi Capitals' dug-out during home games.

"Pant is a huge loss, and it doesn't matter who we bring in, as we will still miss Rishabh. I am not going to joke or try and gloss over that fact, and he is one of the best players in the world in three formats of the game," Ponting was straight as a ramrod in his reply when asked how he plans to fill up the maverick keeper-batter's slot.

"He [Pant] is ranked in the top five among Test batsmen in the world and our leader and has been our No. 4 batter in middle-order and finisher for us, and replacing him is going to be pretty much impossible," the former Australian skipper made no bones about the cold and hard facts during an interaction with select media.

However, a young Mumbai all-rounder Aman Hakim Khan has caught Ponting's attention. He seemed interested in his talent, having watched two net sessions at the Feroz Shah Kotla. "Aman Khan has impressed us, and we traded Shardul [Thakur] with KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders] to get him in, and he has been ultra-impressive, and I don't know how much you have seen of him and his last couple of days at training has been pretty special," Ponting gave his assessment of the youngster.

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However, he agreed it would take multiple players to bring that power-hitting impact in the middle order to cover Pant's absence. "So, when we are talking about losing some power in middle-order, Aman Khan, Rovman Powell and someone like Axar Patel, whose batting has improved a lot in the last 12 months, we will find ways to cover for Rishabh, but we will not get same quality player," the Tasmanian said.

For DC, Warner will continue to open
David Warner might have batted at number four for Australia in the recently-concluded third One-Day International (ODI) against India. Still, for DC, the skipper for this edition will continue to open a slot where he has all his success over the past decade. "I don't want Warner to bat at No. 4. He has been one of the most successful openers in IPL history," he stated.

"I think we saw the games he played for DC last year. He was our leading run-scorer, winning many games with his batting. And, he is such a competitive guy who is going at the top of the order, and you know he can take the game on and skilful, experienced, and he is our leader," Ponting said.

You will see Marsh bowling in IPL
Mitchell Marsh has been a revelation as an opener during the India series. He will undoubtedly have a significant role in the DC top-order apart from bowling a few overs of medium pace, which he has yet to do so far post his comeback from ankle surgery.

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"He will be a top-order batter/all-rounder for us. I think he is coming into the tournament in the best form I have seen him in, and he has got three-four months of rest in Australia and recovered from ankle surgery he had in November. He has not bowled in games yet, but he has been bowling for the past 5-6 weeks, and his role in this team will be to bowl some overs as well, and he knows that and understand that," Ponting said.

"Prithvi is in better shape than I've ever seen him"
The immensely talented Prithvi Shaw's work ethic has been repeatedly questioned. Still, after looking at him in this year's nets, Ponting strongly feels that extraordinary things might be around the corner for the Mumbai lad, who has been working hard.

"He [Shaw] has been at the NCA [National Cricket Academy] for training and has worked and trained better than I have ever seen him do. He is in better physical shape than I have ever seen him before, and I spoke to him the other day about his attitude and how he is training. It is going to be his biggest IPL season," stated Ponting.

"He just has that different look in his eyes, and you could see he is hungrier than ever. You will see his level of talent and ability," he added. For Ponting, as a coach, what he has always found disappointing is players with the ability to make only partial use of it.

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"It is documented that I had some issues early on, and it is all about being true to yourself and the best you can be. One thing I always say to players is that I don't like laziness and guys not utilising the talent that they have got," said Ponting. He feels something has just seemed to have "clicked this season" with Prithvi, and he looks in better space than ever before. "The game will take away from you if you don't pay full attention," Ponting couldn't be curter.

"Impact player rule will make all-rounders less valuable"
This season's IPL will introduce the "Impact Player' rule, where a batter or bowler can be replaced in the middle of the game as per the match situation to make the game more innovative and exciting. Ponting had no hesitation in admitting that bits and pieces cricketers will cease to exist in the day and age of 'Impact Substitution'.

"It almost negates the role of all-rounders in the game now as you don't need to pick in all-rounders, name a batting or bowling-heavy team and just take one out and bring another one in. Unless they [all-rounders] are world-class and they could be picked as a batter or bowler, not as a bits and pieces guy, I don't think you will see many teams use the guy that bats at No. 7 and bowls an over or two, You don't need those guys anymore," Ponting explained.

So, at the last leg of his career, a veteran like Ishant Sharma could be a good 'Impact Player' if the team is bowling second? "Potentially, yeah. We will find through each franchise how they want to use him [Impact Player], and because of players, we only found out about Impact players post-auction. We have to work with what we have got, and if we had known before the auction, we would have looked at it in a slightly different way," concluded Ponting.

(With inputs from PTI)

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