Watch: 'Humbled' Rishabh Pant thanks Delhi Capitals management after being appointed captain
Newly appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper for IPL 2021, a 'humbled' Rishabh Pant took to social media to express his gratitude to the team management for trusting him with the responsibility.
In a 10-second clip shared on Twitter, the 23-year-old Pant thanked the IPL 2020 finalists for showing faith in him and said 'hopefully, we'll cross the line this year'. He shared the video along with the following caption:
Humbled at the opportunity to lead the franchise I've been part of for the past few years! Thank you @RickyPonting, the coaching staff, management, my teammates and the fans for your faith in me. @DelhiCapitals: Let's do this! #IPL2021
Rishabh Pant was chosen to lead the Ricky Ponting-coached franchise after regular captain Shreyas Iyer was unfortunately ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Iyer led DC to their maiden IPL final last year, where his team went down to eventual champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets.
Will Rishabh Pant lead Delhi Capitals to their maiden IPL title?
Rishabh Pant has put on some extraordinary performances in international cricket over the last six months.
The explosive left-hander was unstoppable and churned out one match-winning performance after another across different formats against Australia and England.
Although coach Ricky Ponting is 'convinced the captaincy will make Pant an even better player', his leadership credentials are untested as this will be the wicketkeeper-batsman's first such assignment.
Rishabh Pant did not have a particularly good time with the bat in IPL 2020 as he could only cross fifty once, and finished the tournament with an unusually low strike-rate of 113.95.
However, with his form picking up over the past few months, Pant is expected to lead DC from the front and produce the kind of explosive knocks that made him a cult hero in 2018 and 2019.
Along with Ponting's inputs, Pant will look up to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin (ex Punjab Kings captain), Ajinkya Rahane (ex Rajasthan Royals captain) and Steve Smith (ex RR captain) to guide him through the tough waters that arrive with the privilege of captainship.