Delhi Capitals (DC) coach Ricky Ponting has heaped rich praise on their newest inclusion in the squad for the IPL 2022 edition, Yash Dhull. Dhull recently won the U19 World Cup for India as captain, beating England in the final in West Indies.
Like all other franchises, the DC will be entering the season with a revamped squad that includes a number of youngsters and Ponting called the inclusion of young Dhull into the squad an exciting one. He also compared the process of development of Dhull as a cricketer with opener Prithvi Shaw.
Dhull is a product of the Delhi Capitals academy and also made his first-class debut for Delhi, following the U19 triumph. He scored dual tons in his debut Ranji game and smashed a double hundred as well in his third match.
“It's very exciting. It adds a lot of energy to the group. Let's not forget with Yash, he has been in the Delhi Capitals academy as well. It's just a really good example of what the Delhi Capitals Academy is being able to do to produce good young players, someone who is good enough to captain India to a successful U19 World Cup campaign. So, he has been a great inclusion to our squad,” Ponting said during a media interaction on Saturday.
Further talking about the youngsters in the DC setup, Ponting pointed out that the side had promoted Prithvi Shaw in a similar way to Dhull.
“Vicky has also been a great inclusion to our squad. We've seen over the past 4-5 years, we've had great success bringing the youngsters in. We did the same thing with Prithvi a few years ago, and we saw how good a player he's turned out to be. There's a bit of the strategy that goes into the auction,” said Ponting.
Furthermore, Ponting also talked about the limited availability of overseas players, especially with four foreign players missing their first game of IPL 2022 against Mumbai Indians.
While the Australian pair of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh will remain on national duty for the limited-overs series against Pakistan, South Africa's Lungi Ngidi and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman are currently in quarantine.
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“No, not at all. We haven't spoken about it at all. We have been working exceptionally hard to make sure they're ready for the first challenge, which is tomorrow afternoon,” Ponting said.
“We would know in the next few days about some of our overseas players who are yet to arrive. Some overseas names are already here, Mustafizur and Ngidi are here, as well as Nortje. Rovman has been really impressive during the training sessions and the practice matches. I believe we've got a great depth in our squad; yes, we're missing some overseas players in the first couple of games, but that's no worry to us whatsoever. A lot of teams are in a similar boat to us, so we are just pushing forward making sure our players are well-prepared. I fully expect us to have a good start on Sunday,” he added.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
