Hope Axar Patel And Ravichandran Ashwin Have Some Wickets Left For IPL 2021 - Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain and the head coach of the Delhi Capitals, Ricky Ponting is hoping for three key players of the franchise – Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Rishabh Pant – to continue their superb form which they displayed against England in the Test series through to the IPL 2021.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the schedule for the upcoming 14th edition of the IPL – the tournament will commence on April 9th with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.

The Delhi Capitals will begin their campaign on 10th April against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai. A key talking point for this season is that no team plays at its home ground – all games will be played at a neutral venue.

The Shreyas Iyer-led outfit will play its first three fixtures in Mumbai; then will fly to Chennai for their next couple of matches; then will play 4 games each in Ahmedabad followed by Kolkata.

Rishabh Pant has more runs to make – Ricky Ponting

After the announcement of the fixtures, Ricky Ponting took to Twitter to express his excitement regarding the new season. Last year, under the coaching of Ponting, the Delhi franchise reached the final of the IPL for the first time – but lost to the indomitable Mumbai Indians. This time the young team will be hoping to do one better than the last time.

And for that, Ricky Ponting is hoping for his star players to continue their surreal form from Test cricket to the IPL as well.

“Can’t wait to get over to @delhicapitals and get to work. Hope @akshar2026 and @ashwinravi99 have some wickets left after taking all of them in the last month, and @rishabhpant17 has more runs to make!” tweeted Ricky Ponting.

Axar Patel and R Ashwin tormented the England batsman as both took 59 wickets combined at an average of 12.83! Rishabh Pant, who had a lacklustre 2020, was back at his attacking best in the 7 Tests he played against Australia and England. In those 7 Tests, the left-hander averages 60 with 1 hundred and 4 fifties as he scripted some of the most famous moments in Indian cricket.

With the 3-1 series win over Joe Root‘s team, Virat Kohli’s side has also qualified for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zeland slated for June 18th in England.

Hahhahaha waiting for you Rick

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) M<!---->a<!---->r<!---->c<!---->h<!----> <!---->8<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->1

Also Read: England’s Multi-Format Players Must Take Responsibility And Put Test Cricket Ahead Of IPL: Nasser Hussain