A familiar name set to replace Rishabh Pant as Delhi Capitals Skipper:
Rishabh Pant, the Indian star wicket-keeper batter, narrowly survived a terrible car accident on December 30, which shocked the entire cricket world. Pant, who managed to escape but had to suffer numerous injuries, was sent to the Max Hospital in Dehradun. Later, he was shifted to Mumbai for further medical care. Rishab is out of danger now as he has been shifted to the general ward from ICU. Reports are saying that we have to wait at least 3 to 6 months to see him back on the cricket field.
Rishab is a permanent part of the Indian squad across the formats and has also captained IPL’s Delhi Capitals. It must be challenging for both sides to find a replacement for Pant in his absence.
The IPL 2023 preparations are nearly completed, and all franchises have finalized their lineups after roping in players at the recent auction. Delhi also had a successful auction, as they acquired some top performers. However, their preparatory campaign will be hampered a bit by the absence of their captain.
Aside from Pant, the Capitals have numerous prominent names in their camp with leadership experience who can lead the squad on the field. We’ll go over the top three candidates, which include Australian left-hander David Warner, U19 World Cup winner Prithwi Shaw, and master spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
David Warner: Warner made his debut in IPL with Delhi in 2009 and has played for them from 2009 to 2013. He has captained Sunrisers Hyderabad in a couple of seasons but ended up with Delhi again in 2022 after Sunrisers sacked him as a skipper midway in 2021. Even in 2022, the Hyderabad-based franchise did not retain him and so Delhi got him instead.
Warner is the IPL’s top overseas run-scorer and also led his previous team to their first and only IPL title in 2016. He has extensive experience leading teams in leagues and on the international level as well. Also, he is expected to be available for the entire IPL 2023 edition, so Warner can be a strong contender and handy option to lead the Capitals in the coming season.
Prithvi Shaw: Since 2018, Prithwi Shaw has been very crucial for the Capitals. Shaw has appeared in 63 IPL games and scored 1588 runs, which many believe makes it unfortunate that he hasn’t yet made it into the national side so far. Prithvi led India to victory in the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, their fourth Under-19 World Cup overall.
Capitals are renowned for grooming young players and entrusting them with leadership roles as they did with Rishab Pant in IPL 2021 when Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to injury. Capitals had the option of naming Ashwin as skipper, but they opted for Pant, so it is possible that Delhi may do the same this time and go with young Prithwi Shaw.
Kuldeep Yadav: Kuldeep Yadav is one of the favorites to lead the Capitals. Kuldeep is a seasoned T20 player who has had a successful run in this format. He has 149 wickets and a staggering average of 21.36.
Though Yadav lacks captaincy experience, he will be buoyed and high on confidence by his recent IPL accomplishments and a great run in his favorite format. So, he can also emerge as a serious contender to captain the Delhi Capitals in the 2023 season.
