Rishabh Pant in IPL 2024: Fans are eagerly anticipating the return of star keeper-batter Rishabh Pant in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, especially after the team's co-owner announced that Pant would captain the side. However, there is concerning news for Delhi Capitals and their supporters. Rishabh Pant has yet to receive fitness clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), casting doubt over his participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Dainik Bhaskar reported.
The inaugural match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will kickstart with a high-octane match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22, followed by a clash between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).
According to the report, Rishabh Pant is still awaiting fitness clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to participate in IPL 2024. Unfortunately, the NCA experts have yet to deem Rishabh Pant 'match fit'. This presents a challenging situation for Delhi Capitals (DC).
Sourav Ganguly, the Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals (DC), previously stated that Rishabh Pant's clearance report would be available by March 5. However, the absence of this report has naturally led to numerous questions. Consequently, Delhi Capitals has not yet received Rishabh Pant's clearance certificate, making it impossible for them to include him officially in Delhi Capitals IPL 2024 squad at this point.
The report suggests that Delhi Capitals (DC) have the option to request BCCI for Rishabh Pant's inclusion as an additional player in the squad, even in the absence of his official clearance certificate.
Despite Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner's assertion that Rishabh Pant will assume the captaincy, he has not been officially appointed as the captain yet. Notably, David Warner's name still stands as the captain of Delhi Capitals on the official IPL website. Should Rishabh Pant receive fitness clearance from NCA, he is expected to assume the captaincy; otherwise, seasoned opener David Warner will continue leading the team.