‘Pant came when Dhoni left’: Ganguly sees opportunity for youngsters | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals came up with a kind hearted gesture to show their love to Rishabh Pant during their IPL 2023 opening match against Lucknow Super Giants. DC tweeted an image of Pant’s jersey hanging in the dugout and captioned “Always in our dugout. Always in our team”.

Delhi’s Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly also admitted that the side missed their regular skipper Pant against Lucknow but he sees it as an opportunity for youngsters to prove their worth. He also cited an example of how Pant got into the Indian team.
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“We of course missed Rishabh Pant, but it gives an opportunity to a lot of other youngsters. Pant came when Dhoni left and that is how youngsters get an opportunity. Right now what is important for us is Rishabh Pant’s recovery,” said Ganguly in a press conference.
Delhi Capitals will play their first home game of the season against Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. DC started their campaign with a 50-run loss against LSG, while GT is coming into the match after a five-wicket win against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In their loss, DC felt the absence of Pant, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident last year.
Ganguly admitted that though Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed did not bowl well in the first match, it is just the start of the tournament. He also gave credit to West Indies stars Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran for their knocks which pushed LSG to a huge total.

“You cannot help when these West Indies players hit the ball a long way, whether it is Mayers or Pooran,” added Ganguly.
Ganguly also lauded LSG and England pacer Mark Wood for his five-wicket haul that pushed Delhi to the backfoot in the start itself.
Ganguly said it is not fair to judge Sarfaraz Khan, who displayed excellent form in domestic cricket for months, after one match.
Sarfaraz kept the wickets in absence of Rishabh and scored four runs in nine balls with the bat.
“The game has changed. At this level the pressure is different. Sarfaraz Khan has just kept in one match. So, judging him for 20 overs is not fair. We do not have Rishabh who was batting and keeping for us. LSG have KL Rahul and Pooran who can keep and bat, you have MS Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings,” said Ganguly.
On using Aman Khan as an impact player in the first match, Ganguly said that he was used for his batting. Aman could score only four runs in his first outing.
“We used Aman Khan for his batting not just for his fielding. You cannot field the best eleven fielders. We have to balance it out,” concluded Ganguly.
(With ANI Inputs)