IPL 2024: On What Basis Has Ricky Ponting Been Given A Free Hand In Delhi Capitals? Irfan Pathan Rants

Irfan Pathan has slammed Ricky Ponting for his inability to resolve the Delhi Capitals’ middle-order issues despite being their head coach for a considerable amount of time. Delhi Capitals have never won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title. The best performance from Delhi Capitals came back in 2020 when they finished as the runners-up of the tournament. The team finished ninth among the 10 teams last season in the IPL and now they have released a plethora of players ahead of the auction for IPL 2024.

Irfan Pathan was asked whether the franchise would be looking for backups for the injured Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant. While replying in the affirmative, the former India all-rounder criticized Ricky Ponting for failing to address the middle-order crisis that Delhi Capitals are suffering from, elaborating, “Ideally, you would like to have [backups]. They will be putting a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Rishabh Pant, who is going to be coming back from a big injury. The two slots in the middle order have been the real problem.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator added, “What I am surprised about with the Delhi Capitals is that they have had one coach for so many years in Ricky Ponting and they haven’t got the results. Despite that, they have given him a free hand and still, he is not able to find guys in the middle order who can finish games.”

Irfan Pathan Highlights The Biggest Challenge For Delhi Capitals

Irfan Pathan highlighted that Indian batters who can play spin very well on slow and low pitches are required at the Capitals’ home ground. He added that finding such players will be the biggest challenge for the franchise. However, with the pitch at the Arun Jaitely stadium being recreated with a lot of changes will see a lot of pace and bounce at the track.

Rishabh Pant is expected to lead the franchise in the IPL 2024. He will be returning from the injuries he got after being involved in a near-fatal accident last year. Delhi Capitals will hope for a better season than the last one where they finished second last on the table and Rishabh Pant will be looking forward to marking his return to competitive cricket after a year-long struggle from injuries and rehab.