The Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has come out in full support of Rishabh Pant and has said that he backs Pant’s decision making on the ground because he himself has been a captain in the shortest format of the game before and he is well aware of the fact that a captain doesn’t have too much time in his hand to get all the decisions spot-on in T20 cricket.
There have been some of the questionable on-field decisions that Rishabh Pant has made this season and he had made one last season too and in a very important playoff game where he had decided to bowl Tom Curran to the CSK skipper MS Dhoni when he had an over of Kagiso Rabada left.
But, according to Ricky Ponting, decision-making is never easy for a captain in this format simply because he doesn’t have too much time to think. People, who are sitting outside, can often get their analysis spot on in the hindsight, but a captain has to make the decisions right there on the ground instantly without any benefit of hindsight.
Won’t use COVID scare as an excuse for poor performance: Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting, while addressing the post-match press conference yesterday after a massive loss against CSK, also refused to use the COVID scares in the camp as an excuse to justify DC’s indifferent performances this IPL season.
According to Ponting, the COVID scare was there in the camp once before as well, when they played against Punjab Kings and they still won that game. So, rather than what’s happening off the field, it’s about how you play on the field on that particular day.
Ponting, however, admitted that when there are COVID scares in the camp and the players and the support staff are asked to be locked up in their rooms, that’s not ideal preparation for a game.
One of the net bowlers of Delhi Capitals had tested positive ahead of the game against CSK yesterday and the whole squad had to remain isolated for a few hours before the fresh set of test results arrived.
