"We missed him incredibly last year" - Ricky Ponting excited by Rishabh Pant's return ahead of IPL 2024

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has lauded Rishabh Pant's ability to galvanize their camp as he marks his return to professional cricket after 15 months of hiatus. The 49-year-old acknowledged that they missed the keeper-batter sorely in the previous edition.

Pant sustained a life-threatening car accident in late December while driving his BMW. He underwent multiple surgeries and several months of rehab, forcing him to miss IPL 2023, World Test Championship final, and the 2023 World Cup in India.

Speaking to reporters, the 168-Test veteran stated, as quoted by India Today:

"We missed him 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 good as ever and he tends to lift all of his teammates around."

The Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre reflected on Pant's first training session, stating that his bat swing was 'vintage'. Amre also pointed out the youngster's mental strength and hunger.

"We're not talking about just winning enough games" - Ricky Ponting

With the Capitals finishing ninth in the points table in the 2023 edition, Ponting said he won't change the approach on this occasion, but stressed the need to increase his intensity. The Tasmanian added:

"It's not a different approach, it's the same, but I'm going to be more intense with the way that I go about it this year. Every time I come here I talk about wanting to win the IPL and nothing changes there. I'm just going to talk about that a lot more this year.

"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."

The Capitals will get their campaign underway against the Punjab Kings on March 23.