File photo of Rishabh Pant
The Delhi Capitals management has more or less decided to persist with star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as the captain of the franchise for the remainder of the Indian Premier League starting on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates.
Pant was appointed captain of the Capitals at the start of the season after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer, under whom the team reached finals for the first time in the last edition, was out due to a horrific shoulder dislocation that required a surgery.
A senior BCCI source, who is privy to developments in the IPL franchises, informed PTI that an announcement is a mere formality as the dashing keeper-batsman is the first choice for the franchise.
"Last week, the host broadcasters (Star Sports), with the help of IPL management, shot a few promos for the season. It was shot in the gap between the third and fourth Test (against England) with IPL captains currently present in England. Virat Kohli (RCB), Rohit Sharma (MI), KL Rahul (Punjab Kings) were there and so was Rishabh Pant (DC)," the source informed.
"Unless the BCCI-IPL management is aware of any other name of captain for DC franchise, the promos wouldn't have been shot. Therefore whether DC announces it now or after a few days, Pant is likely to lead the DC for the remaining matches in the season."
It couldn't be independently ascertained whether England white ball captain Eoin Morgan was also present for the shoot as he is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders.
It will be interesting to see what kind of equation Pant and Iyer will have as captain ad senior player in this Delhi set-up.
For Pant, this IPL will also be a vehicle to return back to form after what has been a nightmare of an English summer with the willow. A good IPL is just the kind of boost that Pant will need going into the T20 World Cup to be held in the same country.
For Iyer, the processes that he set in place as captain and became a recipe for DC's amazing turnaround will motivate to produce a stellar show.
The Capitals are currently leading the table with 12 points from eight games, followed by CSK in second place with 10 points and RCB in third due to inferior net run-rate.
Mumbai Indians are currently at fourth with eight points.
