DC coach Ricky Ponting, ‘not looking forward to the first match of IPL 2024 yet’, says ‘it’s just the start’
We are just days away from the start of IPL 2024, and almost everyone is waiting to see Rishabh Pant return to competitive cricket after a long accident layoff when the Delhi Capitals take on the Punjab Kings on March 23. Last year, when Pant couldn’t play for the franchise, they missed him sorely, as they finished ninth on the table, winning only one match.
Now back with full force, DC coach Ricky Ponting is waiting for Pant to take the field and marshal his troops. “We missed Pant incredibly last year. The whole tournament missed him. Rishabh brings so much energy to the team. He’s got that smile on his face; he’s hitting the ball as well as ever, and he tends to lift all of his teammates around him,” Ponting was quoted as saying in a press release.
The former Australia skipper said, “But by his own admission, the team is yet to get into full swing.“ It’s just the start. We don’t expect to be practicing at our absolute best right now. We’re not even looking forward to the first game yet. We’re getting some volume work done.”
But the coach was quick to point out that the aim for DC was not to just qualify for the last four but to win the IPL as well. “I want the guys to be fully engaged, and that’s the reason we’re all here. It’s my job to bring success to this team. We’re not talking about just winning enough games to qualify. We’re talking about winning the IPL.
He said, “Everything we do, every training session we have, every meeting we have, every recovery session we have, every chat that I have with the players is going to be about making them better to give ourselves the best chance of winning.”