IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant Hopes To Use His Experience Against MS Dhoni As Delhi Capitals Takes On Chennai Super Kings At Wankhede Stadium

Rishabh Pant is looking forward to leading Delhi Capitals in their opening match against Chennai Super Kings, which is led by MS Dhoni. The match will be played on Saturday (April 10) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Rishabh Pant was quoted by ANI that he has learned a lot from MS Dhoni and hopes to use this experience against Chennai Super Kings.

Delhi Capitals lost their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer in IPL 2021 who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The team nominated wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as the new skipper for the team. Delhi Capitals were the runner-up in IPL 2020 as they lost the final match to Mumbai Indians last season.

Extra Special To Walk Out For Toss With MS Dhoni, Says Rishabh Pant

The left-handed batsman Rishabh Pant mentioned that it will be extra special to walk out for the toss with MS Dhoni. He also hopes that his team can win this match against Chennai Super Kings.

“It will be extra special to walk out for the toss with MS Dhoni tomorrow. This will be the first time that I will be leading an IPL team and the first match is against Mahi bhai. I have learned a lot from him, and I have gained a lot of experience from him. Hopefully, I can use this experience against him, and we can win this match. That’s what I am looking forward to,” Rishabh Pant said.  

Pant also said that he has been taking guidance from the senior players and coaches of the Delhi Capitals over strategic decisions. “I have been talking to the senior players like Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane about the fields we can set and other strategic decisions for the team.

“I have been talking to Ricky and our bowling coach James Hopes as well. There’s a good mix of seniors and juniors in our squad and I think with the help of Ricky, we can do something different this year,” the Delhi Capitals skipper added.

In his first match as a skipper in IPL, Pant aims to keep things simple and give his 100 per cent while leading Delhi Capitals.

“I haven’t thought about the fact that it’s my first match as captain in the IPL. I am just going to keep things simple and give my 100 per cent. You get a good idea about setting fields as a wicketkeeper and now as captain, I will be making the changes in the field directly. So, there’s not going to be much of a difference for me,” Pant further said.

In the opening match of IPL 2021, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by 2 wickets. Harshal Patel became the star of the match after taking 5 wickets for 27 runs and was awarded the player of the match award.