Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Pravin Amre lauded Rishabh Pant for his captaincy during now postponed IPL 2021.
Shreyas Iyer’s injury was a big blow for Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 14. However, in his absence, Rishabh Pant was handed the leadership responsibilities.
Rishabh Pant though had a great start to his captaincy campaign as Delhi Capitals hammered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by seven wickets in their first match of the season.
The southpaw didn’t disappoint the fans as he led the team to a top-of-the-table finish in the first half of the season with 6 wins from 8 games.
In an interaction with News 18, DC coach Pravin Amre said despite not being prepared for captaincy Rishabh Pant showed a lot of positivity. He admitted that he deserves more credit than coaches for the team’s success this season.
“This year, when he came to the IPL, he was not that prepared for captaincy after Shreyas Iyer got injured. But he showed a lot of positivity, building this team, backing it and being on the top.
“As a team gets successful, you have to give credit to the captain. In this format, the captain is more answerable than the coaches. DC won six of the eight matches this IPL. Credit goes to the captain as this format is driven by the captain,” Pravin Amre said.
Amre recalled that how a young Rishabh Pant’s ability to hit sixes on slow tracks during DC selection trials surprised him.
“I have seen him from Day 1 when he came to Delhi Capitals selection trials from the India under-19 team and effortlessly hit sixes. His specialty is to hit sixes on slow tracks. That’s something special when the bounce is low. It struck me then that this boy was something different.
Pravin Amre further lauded Rishabh Pant for his heroics for Team India over the last six months. He added that the southpaw is enjoying his role as a wicket-keeper and finisher.
“What we saw in the last six months for Team India was that he was showing more maturity, learning with experience. He is now in a good space, enjoying himself as a wicketkeeper and as a key batsman for the Indian team. He is also enjoying his role as a finisher,” he concluded.
Rishabh Pant will be next seen in action when Team India take on New Zealand in the final of ICC World Test Championship and then later England in the five-Test series.
(News 18 inputs)
