Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting named Axar Patel as the team’s captain, instead of Rishabh Pant, who will miss some matches due to a certain “loss”.
Capitals’ regular skipper Pant was suspended for one match for his third slow over of the season.
Pant was also fined INR 3m ($40,000) for violating the code of conduct during DC’s victory over Rajasthan Royals in New Delhi on May 7.
“Akshar Patel is going to be our captain tomorrow. He has obviously been vice-captain for some years now.
“He is a very experienced IPL and international player who knows the game inside out. He is really excited about it and he is always involved and switched on in the game,” Ponting said in his pre-match press conference.
According to Ponting, Capitals were informed that Pant might be suspended days before he got penalized and therefore they had made their move accordingly.
“We started talking about this a few days ago when Rishabh might be banned. We obviously knew he had already struck twice.
“We could actually take him off from being captain to not make that happen but at the end of it all time on ground is captains responsibility,” he said.
Ponting said that things would have been different for Pant if Khalil Ahmed bowled normal overs against RR.
“Looking at it from there, maybe he was a little bit unlucky last game. Going into Carell’s last game we were only three minutes behind. So if Carell doesn’t have those extra balls, Bowl a regular ball (after three wickets) then in the next over off Kuldeep if we get a wicket we get all the time back.
“So since Carrel finished nine minutes ahead we are already more time behind plus you can’t get the time back,” explained Ponting
The Tasmanian said unless they rushed through their top 10 to gain a few extra minutes on what would normally be a tense death round, it remained the only solution to avoid such incidents in the past.
“You know in a tight game if you’re four or five minutes behind you can never make that time up.
“One of the things we’ve been talking to all the boys about is making sure we get through the first ten overs as quickly as possible especially if you don’t take wickets.”
Ponting opened up that Pant’s absence from this crucial match remains a big regret but assures they are ready for it.
“Rishabh is not there. You know, he is one of the best players of this particular IPL. I think he is our top run-scorer and his absence means we have lost out.
“But it’s also challenging for every other guy. We have worked harder to make sure they completed their task for the team,” added Ponting.
The availability of David Warner who suffered serious wrist injury last month will be determined after net assessment ahead of RCB game says Ricky Ponting
“The New Role Adjustment”
RCB batsman Rajat Patidar, who rediscovered his touch in the second half of this IPL and scored three fifties after an understated start, said he had mentally adjusted to his new role in midfield.
‘This season I have a new role in middle-order batting. I have done so much in top-order batting. So, I spoke to Virat bhai and DK bhai and tried to learn from their experience (in Middle-order batting) middle-order),’ Patidar said.
‘It is a matter of “split-second decision making” while batting in the middle order as it is the case most often that you are at No. 11 or even lower,’ he added
