IPL2024: Ricky Ponting is optimistic about’sensible’ Axar Patel’s capacity to guide Delhi Capitals

Axar Patel will take charge of the team while Rishabh Pant is expected to miss time owing to a slow-over rate punishment.  A very seasoned IPL player, seasoned international player, and smart guy with a great understanding of the game. He finds it exciting. When it looked like Rishabh would be banned a few days ago, that’s when we first started talking about it.”

The Delhi Capitals will try to maintain their momentum after securing a significant victory in their previous game when they play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday, May 12, in their penultimate league stage match of the IPL 2024 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

“He has comprehended it mentally. Our bowlers’ meetings are over for today. “He’ll make sure he’s prepared to lead the team effectively tomorrow by catching up with all the guys tonight and going over all the plans,” he continued.

“Axar Patel has been Vice-Captain at this franchise for the last couple of seasons,” Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting stated at the team’s pre-game press conference on Saturday.

With 12 points from 12 games, Delhi Capitals is ranked fifth in the standings, while the hosts are enjoying a four-game winning streak. The DC Head Coach responded, “They’re all tough games in the IPL,” when asked if the matchup will be challenging or equal. If you go back two weeks, RCB wasn’t even close to their peak performance. They most likely performed as well as anyone in the competition at this point.”

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“I’ll make the argument that our squad’s performance throughout the previous seven games has been on par with that of any team in the tournament. We’ve triumphed in five of our last seven games, scoring some enormous points in the process. Despite Pant’s absence from the starting lineup, we will not be making any excuses tomorrow. I’m confident that we can defeat the Delhi Capitals tomorrow if we play our best game,” he continued.

Aside from discussing the lineup with Pant out, Ponting provided an update on David Warner‘s health.

“David Warner hasn’t played a game since he took a hard hit to the hand almost a month ago, which is why he missed the last game. He put in a lot of effort in his training yesterday, and since he’s currently hitting balls in the middle, he’ll be batting more today. “Hopefully, tomorrow is his available selection day,” he stated.