New Delhi: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting, says extra responsibility of leading the team will motivate Rishabh Pant ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
"I think extra responsibility is going to sit really well with him. He is that sort of a person that likes the responsibility, wants to be the main man and wants to be the leader, so I am really excited to see how he goes. We'll help him through, but honestly, I don't think he's going to need much help at all," Ponting said on Monday.
"I think if we can get most of the talking done with Rishabh about his captaincy leading into the first game, then we don't have to worry about it as the tournament starts. The last thing you want is to be overloading the captain with all sorts of information once the tournament is underway. It is a big part of my job, and other coaches and senior players' job to get behind Rishabh and help him where they need to. Not only during training, but during matches as well," he added.
The former Australia skipper added that it will be part of the coaching staff and also the senior players' job to support the new captain.
The 46-year-old further expressed that Pant's performances in the last few months have been nothing short of breathtaking.
"I have known how talented Rishabh is since the moment I laid eyes on him. When he got back into the Test squad in Australia, I actually made a comment before a ball was bowled in the second Test match that this will be the unearthing of a 15-year Test player for India. I think he is on track for doing that. His cricket in the last six- seven months has been nothing short of breathtaking and outstanding," Ponting said.
The Delhi Capitals head coach said that he is confident that the team can go all the way this season.
"I am thrilled with the players that we've got here, and I think we can win the IPL. Might as well go on record and say it now because that's what I am here for and that's what the players are here for," he said.
SHAW CAN BE A SUPERSTAR
Ricky Ponting thinks that DC's opening batsman Prithvi Shaw has the potential to become a superstar.
Shaw had a poor outing in IPL 2020 and was dropped from the squad in many games. However, the little master seems to have come back into form, scoring 827 runs in eight matches of the Vijay Hazare tournament.
"I've had some really interesting chats with him through last year's IPL, just trying to break him down, trying to find out exactly what was the right way to coach him and how I was going to get the best out of him," Ponting told cricket.com.au.
Delhi Capitals in their first match will battle MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings on April 10.
(With agency inputs)