In a recent development, former India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that Rishabh Pant will not be available for IPL 2023 as the wicketkeeper-batter continues to recover from the injuries he sustained after he met with a car accident on December 30.
While Pant was initially treated for impact injuries in Uttarakhand, he was later airlifted to Mumbai and is currently admitted at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where he is under the direct supervision of the Indian Cricket Board's empanelled doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala.
Ganguly, who was recently appointed as Head of Cricket Operations at Pant's Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals, confirmed Pant's unavailability while speaking to Sports Today.
“Rishabh Pant will not be available for the IPL. I am in connection with Delhi Capitals. It will be a great IPL (for the team), we will do well but Rishabh Pant’s injury will affect the Delhi Capitals," Ganguly was quoted as saying.
Who will lead DC in absence of Pant?
With Pant more or less ruled out of IPL, it would be interesting to see who leads the team this year. Ironically, Pant had replaced Iyer at the helm of affairs in the team when the latter was ruled out with an injury. If that trend is something to go by, if the captain who takes Pant's place this season delivers an impressive season, he can even become the permanent captain of the franchise.
However, that won't be an easy job to do. The franchise though already has an IPL-winning captain in their squad in David Warner. With rich experience on his side, he definitely knows a thing or two about leadership and would be happy to lead the team, if called upon to do so.
Prithvi Shaw can be another candidate who can lead the team, especially if the team is looking at a youngster.