David Warner vs Rishabh Pant! Delhi Capitals unveil 11th-hour captaincy change ahead of IPL 2024

On Tuesday, March 19, the Delhi Capitals (DC) made a huge captaincy announcement ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has officially been named as the captain of the franchise for the upcoming season.

Since making his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rishabh Pant has been part of only one franchise – Delhi Capitals (formerly known as the Delhi Daredevils).

Rishabh Pant made his IPL debut in 2016 and since then he has been a consistent performer for the Delhi-based franchise. After playing seven seasons, the star wicketkeeper-batsman was forced to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

In March 2021, he was named the captain of the Delhi Capitals for IPL 2021 after the regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the competition due to an injury. Then, the franchise decided to retain him as captain and they released Shreyas Iyer, who went on to join the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as captain.

Meanwhile, his absence in IPL 2023 was a colossal blow to the Delhi Capitals (DC) and to deal with his absence they handed the leadership to the veteran Australia National Cricket Team opener David Warner. However, the franchise had a torrid outing as they won just 5 out of 14 matches and finished in the 9th spot on the 10-team points table in IPL 2023.

Notably, Rishabh Pant missed the season for Delhi Capitals (DC) because he was severely injured in a horrific car accident in December 2022. His injuries kept him out of action for over one year and he will be making his comeback to competitive cricket in IPL 2024.

The champion wicketkeeper-batsman worked very hard and made a good and quick recovery to make himself available for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. A great outing in the cash-rich league would also earn him a spot in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.

Rishabh Pant will captain Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League – DC

In an official media release, Delhi Capitals (DC) confirmed on Tuesday that they will be returning to their original captain Rishabh Pant and he will replace David Warner at the helm.

“Rishabh Pant will captain Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. The wicketkeeper-batter is making a return to professional cricket after 14 months, and has been a part of the Delhi Capitals pre-season preparatory camp in Vizag,” DC said in a statement.

COMEBACK DONE 👉🏼 NOW WELCOME BACK, CAPTAIN RISHABH PANT 💙❤️#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/wN7xDgLW31

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 19, 2024

Talking about Rishabh Pant’s appointment as captain, the DC Chairman and co-owner Parth Jindal said that they are delighted to welcome the wicketkeeper-batsman and expressed excitement over seeing him in action. He said:

“We are delighted to welcome Rishabh back as our Captain. Grit and fearlessness have always dictated his brand of cricket, and not surprisingly, even his road to recovery. I can’t wait to see him walk our team out once again as we look forward to a new season with renewed passion, vigour and enthusiasm.”

Meanwhile, co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi said that the star cricketer worked hard during the challenging phase of his career.

“Rishabh has worked incredibly hard during one of the most challenging phases of his life. I have no doubt his teammates will take immense inspiration from that as they embark upon a new season. Captain Rishabh and the team has our best wishes.”

Delhi Capitals (DC) will be seen in action in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. They will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 23 away from home.