Head Coach of Delhi Capitals Ricky Ponting feels that Rishabh Pant's availability for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be a "bonus".
Ponting mentioned that Pant is fairly confident of making it to the side for the entire season but the former Australia skipper is still not sure of how match-fit he (Pant) would be leading into the season.
"Rishabh is very confident that he's going to be right to play. In what capacity we're not quite sure yet.
"You would have seen all the social media stuff, he's up and about and running well. But in saying that we're only six weeks away from the first game as well. So we're not sure if we'll get wicketkeeping out of him this year," Ponting was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"But I'll guarantee if I asked him now he'll say, 'I'm playing every game, I'm keeping every game and I'm batting at No.4.' That's just what he's like, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.
"He's such a dynamic player. He's obviously our captain. We missed him incredibly last year.
"If you understand the journey he's been on the last 12-13 months, it was a horrific incident. One that I know he feels very lucky to have even survived, let alone have the chance to play cricket again.
"We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope that he can be out there and play. Even if it's not all the games, if we can manage him through 10 of the 14 games or whatever that might be then whatever games you can get out of him will be a bonus," he added.
Notably, Pant has begun weight training and is pushing hard enough to script a comeback to the field of play. He has been posting videos of his endurance-enhancing workout sessions and looks much better than he was a few months ago.
He recently caught up with the members of the Indian cricket team at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru ahead of their 3rd T20I against Afghanistan on January 17. Pant was seen having a laugh with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli among others during Team India's training session.
