"Ricky Ponting thought Rishabh Pant will be a better option to lead DC than Shreyas Iyer" - Ajay Jadeja

Ricky Ponting (L) and Rishabh Pant (Image: Instagram)

Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) secured a decisive eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday (May 11). Following the contest, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja stated that Rishabh Pant has done a fine job while leading the Delhi side.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Jadeja pointed out that DC head coach Ricky Ponting had worked with both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He opined that Ponting might have felt that Pant was a better candidate to lead the side and hence picked him over Iyer as the team's full-time captain.

The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that there's nobody instructing Pant and he has been making important decisions by himself, without any interference from the support staff.

"Rishabh Pant's decisions have been good and he is an aggressive player. It seemed like he was playing a senior role very early in his career. The youth factor must stay intact. It was amazing to see him play this way today. Nobody expects him to go out there and play like the rest of the batters.

"At times, when someone is made captain, you can feel that someone's guiding them. But with Pant, it's clear that he is the one calling the shots. Ricky Ponting backed Rishabh Pant ahead of ex-captain Shreyas Iyer. He saw both of them and selected Pant to lead the side as he thought him to be the better option out of the two."

Speaking in the video, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel mentioned that Pant knows what's best for his team. Hence, he elected to field first against RR. He was also pleased to see Ponting support the captain's decision.

"Rishabh Pant knows how he wants to run this team and knew that they have a better chance of winning if they chase. The job of the head coach is to support the captain's thinking."

DC restricted RR to a below par score of 160 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. David Warner (52*) and Mitchell Marsh (89) showcased stunning batsmanship during the run-chase and helped their side win the contest easily with 11 deliveries to spare.

Catch the next match on the IPL timetable 2022 here.

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"Only three teams thought Mitchell Marsh was worth a lot of money" - Ajay Jadeja on the DC all-rounder

As Mitchell Marsh stole the show during DC's recent fixture, Ajay Jadeja highlighted how very few teams had expressed interest in signing the Aussie star. He reckoned that the rest of the franchises did not think that the player was worth spending a lot of money on.

He added that the IPL teams might have been apprehensive as the 30-year-old is prone to injuries. However, Jadeja remarked that Marsh surely deserves a hefty paycheck and he proved that with his all-round exploits in the RR vs DC game.

"Just three teams went after Mitchell Marsh at the auction and he was picked for ₹6.50 crore. This shows that out of the 10 teams, only three teams thought that he was worth this much money. After today's game, those teams will be thinking that he is worth a lot more. Teams have paid around ₹11-12 crore for several players and Marsh is definitely worth it. Teams would have avoided signing him as he is an injury-prone cricketer."

Mitch Marsh tonight 👉🏽 S.O.L.D.I.E.R. on all-round duty 👐🏽

#RRvDC https://t.co/uFVtaEeYGz

Apart from his explosive knock, the Australian cricketer also contributed significantly with the ball. He picked up the crucial wickets of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the encounter.