New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Newly-appointed Delhi Capitals head coach Sourav Ganguly is confident that embattled wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will “fit perfectly” in the team’s middle order, bringing the best out of him in the next IPL season.
Pant played 111 matches for the Capitals and scored 3,284 runs besides captaining the unit before moving to Lucknow Super Giants in 2025. After a not-so-successful stint with LSG, he has been reinstated into his former team after being traded for Kuldeep Yadav.
“We needed a middle-order batter and Pant fits it perfectly. He was with us and he played well for us. Next year, when he turns up again, I think he’ll use the time and space and the matches to become a better player,” Ganguly said in a video posted by DC on their official Youtube channel.
“You know he enjoys batting at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi and hopefully we’ll see the best of Pant in the years to come for the Delhi shirt,” added the former India captain who is also heading the Cricket Association of Bengal.
Pant has been enduring a slump in form and also battling nagging injuries since recovering from a life-threatening car accident in 2022.
It is a homecoming of sorts for Ganguly too.
His association with Delhi Capitals began in 2019 when he joined the franchise as an Advisor. Over the years, the 54-year-old has held multiple leadership positions across the Capitals ecosystem, including Director of Cricket for both the men’s and women’s teams.
“Well I am very, very excited. I have been there with them for two seasons, one season as director of cricket. My first season was 2019, we lost in the semis and then I went away as BCCI president. So I am really excited for the season ahead,” he said.
“Delhi is a very good side and I will be giving my best to make the side successful,” he added.
Mindset of a coach
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Ganguly, whose maiden coaching stint was with DC’s South Africa outfit Pretoria Capitals, also shared some insights on his approach to the high-pressure job.
“…it’s not the same as a player. It’s a bit different, you need to understand things, you need to be relaxed. You still need to find a way to get the best out of players and work with the players because players are different.
“It’s not you batting or you bowling anymore. It’s about somebody else batting or bowling or winning cricket matches. So it’s important that you sync with them and understand what they want and how they can get better,” he explained.
DC finished sixth last season and Ganguly said his priority is to take the team into playoffs. Delhi have reached the IPL finals only in the 2020 season.
“It’s a good team with KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, it’s a pretty strong team and and I hope we play to our potential and I hope everyone understands how good they are and goes and expresses themselves,” he said.
“Motivation is to take Delhi to the top. In 2019 and 2020, Delhi was a very good team. I was involved in making the team but then I left and became BCCI president. So from that point of view that motivation will always remain to take that squad to a different level.
“I think that’s what I will be looking out for from the players because there’s enormous talent in the dressing room,” he said.
Ganguly acknowledged that DC have not had much success in recent years, which he will try to change during his tenure.
“I think it’s time that the Delhi boys give them (the owners) that opportunity to rejoice with the squad where they have put in so much time and energy for the years to come,” he said. PTI PM PM APA
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