IPL 2024: Ricky Ponting announces Axar Patel as stand in captain for Delhi Capitals against RCB

Delhi Capitals are grappling with the leadership conundrum amid the Indian Premier League 2024. Their captain Rishabh Pant has been banned from the DC’s upcoming game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 12. Pant was handed over a ban due to the slow over rate during DC’s clash against the Rajasthan Royals on May 7. As a result, he had to shed a hefty amount as a penalty along with other teammates.

There were rumours mounting over the potential contenders to replace Pant as captain. With the likes of David Warner and veteran Kuldeep Yadav at their disposal, DC have gone for their trusted weapon. DC’s head coach, Ricky Ponting revealed that Axar Patel will step in as the captain and lauded him as the sensible guy.

“He (Axar) has been Vice-Captain at this franchise for the last couple of seasons. A very experienced IPL player, an experienced international player, a sensible guy, understands the game really well. He's excited about it. We started talking about it a couple of days ago when there was a possibility that Rishabh might be banned," said Ponting at the pre-match press conference.

Also Read: 'Came to the dressing room and hugged everyone' - Varun Chakravarthy reveals Shahrukh Khan’s 'huge impact' on KKR team

"He's got his head around it. We've done our bowlers' meetings today. He'll catch up with all the guys tonight, go through all the plans and make sure that he's ready to lead the team well tomorrow. They're all tough games in the IPL. If you wind the clock back two weeks, RCB weren't playing anywhere near their best. And, now, they probably played as well as anybody in the tournament,” he added.

Warner will be out hitting balls in the middle now: Ponting

DC are facing the opening pair woes as their star batter David Warner has been unavailable since he sustained a finger injury. In his absence Jake Fraser McGurk has been firing at the top but there’s no such onslaught from the other end. Ponting highlighted the glaring aspect and touched upon Warner’s potential return against RCB on Sunday.

Also Read: 'They have to pay a lot of money' - Sreesanth reveals defaulted payments to cricketers by Kochi Tuskers Kerala

"David Warner missed the last game, he got that nasty knock on his hand about a month ago now and hasn't played a game since. He trained really strongly yesterday, he'll be out hitting balls in the middle now, so he'll be doing some more batting today. Hopefully, he's available for selection for tomorrow,” he concluded.