Ahead of his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Gujarat Titans (GT), Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly said that the side missed their regular skipper and star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in their campaign opener against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), but it gives a chance to youngsters to showcase their talent.
Delhi Capitals will play their first home game of the season against Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. DC started their campaign with a 50-run loss against LSG, while GT is coming into the match after a five-wicket win against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In their loss, DC felt the absence of Pant, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident last year. “We of course missed Rishabh Pant, but it gives an opportunity to a lot of other youngsters. Pant came when Dhoni left and that is how youngsters get an opportunity. Right now what is important for us is Rishabh Pant’s recovery,” said Ganguly in a pre-match press conference.
Ganguly admitted that though Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed did not bowl well in the first match, it is just the start of the tournament. He also gave credit to West Indies stars Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran for their knocks which pushed LSG to a huge total.
“You cannot help when these West Indies players hit the ball a long way, whether it is Mayers or Pooran,” added Ganguly.
Ganguly also lauded LSG and England pacer Mark Wood for his five-wicket haul that pushed Delhi to the backfoot in the start itself.
Ganguly said it is not fair to judge Sarfaraz Khan, who displayed excellent form in domestic cricket for months, after one match.
Sarfaraz kept the wickets in absence of Rishabh and scored four runs in nine balls with the bat.
“The game has changed. At this level the pressure is different. Sarfaraz Khan has just kept in one match. So, judging him for 20 overs is not fair. We do not have Rishabh who was batting and keeping for us. LSG have KL Rahul and Pooran who can keep and bat, you have MS Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings,” said Ganguly.
On using Aman Khan as an impact player in the first match, Ganguly said that he was used for his batting. Aman could score only four runs in his first outing.
“We used Aman Khan for his batting not just for his fielding. You cannot field the best eleven fielders. We have to balance it out,” concluded Ganguly.
Delhi Capitals squad: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Sarfaraz Khan (wk), Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar
Philip Salt, Aman Hakim Khan, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Praveen Dubey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal, Abishek Porel.
Gujarat Titans squad: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Sai Sudharsan, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Srikar Bharat, Abhinav Manohar, Pradeep Sangwan, Matthew Wade, Odean Smith, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Shivam Mavi, Darshan Nalkande, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad.