IPL 2024: "Nobody is a great captain" - Sourav Ganguly delivers bold verdict on Rishabh Pant's leadership

Rishabh Pant - the captain - is definitely going to improve with time, feels Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly after seeing the former's return in IPL 2024. 

Rishabh Pant staged his professional cricketing comeback through IPL 2024 after missing an entire year of cricket due to his recovery from a car accident. On December 2022, Pant had endured a life-threatening accident while on his way back home but his car flipped over and the injuries he sustained from the incident eventually kept him away from all types of cricketing action for over 13 months. 

However, Rishabh Pant had recovered fastly and in time to return and lead the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 for the first time since the 2022 season. He has staged a very decent comeback, scoring over 400 runs from 14 matches at a 150+ strike rate, and also pushed his case very well for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Pant is the second wicket-keeping option in the Indian squad other than Sanju Samson. 

What did Sourav Ganguly say about Rishabh Pant? 

While speaking to press reporters after the Delhi Capitals defeated LSG last night in front of home support, Sourav Ganguly had high praise for Rishabh Pant. Ganguly started off by claiming that the importance of Indian players in the cash-rich league has increased more than ever since the addition of two more teams in 2022, making it a 10-team affair. 

Ganguly then expressed his delight to see Rishabh Pant stage his return to competitive cricket, giving the latter his best wishes for the future endeavors. 

About Pant's captaincy, Sourav Ganguly said that for him to become a better leader, the former will have to spend more time on his craft. The former India captain claimed that no one becomes a great captain from day one of captaincy but Ganguly did admit that Pant is a very instinctive captain who makes wise decisions on the ground. 

"Pant is a young captain, he'll learn with time. The way he returned from injury to play a full season; we had our doubts during the off-season. Indian players are crucial, especially since the TATA IPL shifted to 10 teams. I am very happy for him that he returned to play so well over a full season. He has all my well-wishes for whatever is next."

"With time, he'll become a better captain. Nobody is a great captain from day one, but he is an instinctual captain, he makes decisions on the ground. With more time, he'll get better," Sourav Ganguly told reporters in New Delhi. 

What next for Rishabh Pant? 

Rishabh Pant will now wait for the remaining IPL 2024 matches to unfold and see if the Delhi Capitals have any chances for playoffs qualification. If DC gets qualified, then he will gear up to prepare for the final stretch and if not, then Pant will join the Indian entourage which will fly to New York for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on May 25th. 

The Men in Blue will leave for the USA in two separate batches. Players not qualified for the play-offs will leave on May 25th, while players featuring in the play-offs and the final, will leave after May 26th.