New Delhi: Rishabh Pant will remain as captain of Delhi Capitals in the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in the UAE, despite the return of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer. Pant was given the captaincy after Iyer was ruled out of the competition in India following a shoulder injury.
But with COVID playing spoilsport midway into the league, Iyer got time with his rehab, adequate rest and is back with full fitness joining the squad. Under Pant’s leadership, the Capitals have performed extremely well in the first phase winning six out of eight games and are at the top of the table.
A senior BCCI source, who is privy to developments in the IPL franchises, informed PTI that the wicketkeeper-batsman is the first choice for the franchise and they decided to go ahead with Pant as the skipper. However, an official announcement is yet to come from the franchise later.
“Last week, the host broadcasters (Star Sports), with the help of IPL management, shot a few promos for the season. It was shot in the gap between the third and fourth Test (against England) with IPL captains currently present in England. Virat Kohli (RCB), Rohit Sharma (MI), KL Rahul (Punjab Kings) were there and so was Rishabh Pant (DC),” the source informed.
“Unless the BCCI-IPL management is aware of any other name of captain for DC franchise, the promos wouldn’t have been shot. Therefore, whether DC announces it now or after a few days, Pant is likely to lead the DC for the remaining matches in the season,” the source added.
Delhi Capitals will resume their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 at Dubai International Stadium.
