At a pre-match press conference, captain Rishabh Pant addressed the media extensively, sharing his thoughts on returning to professional cricket after a 14-month hiatus.
March 22, 2024, Chandigarh: When the Delhi Capitals play the Punjab Kings on March 23 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mohali, they will be ready to start their IPL 2024 campaign.
“I’m anxious, tense, and thrilled all at once, but I’m also relieved to be able to resume playing professional cricket. All I can think about is how excited I am to play my first game tomorrow. It is always a completely different feeling when I step onto the field. All I wanted to do was practice hitting as much as I could and improve daily. “I take each day as it comes, I don’t plan ahead, and I give it everything I have,” Pant said in reference to the Delhi Capitals’ pre-season camp in Visakhapatnam.
“Most of the conversations are pretty simple; we just want to go out there, have fun, not complicate things, and give our 100% in all the games,” the captain added in reference to the team’s strategy this season.
“Make no mistake, we have got a great team this year,” Head Coach Ricky Ponting said of the club’s readiness for the campaign. Everything about our preparations has gone perfectly. We simply want to finish well today and give a performance that, in my opinion, would be sufficient to win the game tomorrow.”
“We are about to start an IPL, it’s really an exciting time of the year,” Ponting remarked in response to a question regarding Rishabh Pant return to the captaincy and his season-long preparations.
When your captain returns to your squad, the action gets even more exciting. Having him back will strengthen our team tremendously because he is our leader and the franchise’s soul.
“Believe me, after a week of training in Vizag, Rishabh Pant is back and prepared to play. Playing his first game in a while tomorrow will make him a little scared, but that’s a good thing because it means something to you. “I know where he’s at in his game, so don’t be shocked if something extraordinary occurs tomorrow,” he said.
On March 23, the Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings will play in the inaugural IPL 2024 match in Chandigarh.
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