Ricky Ponting believes Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant can emulate his Mumbai Indians (MI) counterpart Rohit Sharma and go on to lead India in future.

Ponting was one of the witnesses when Rohit, then 26, led MI to their maiden IPL crown in 2013 after the former had handed him over the leadership midway during the tournament. Thereafter, MI won the title on four more occasions under Rohit, who’s now leading India in all formats.

Ponting thus believes the journey of Pant, appointed Capitals captain last year at a younger age of 23, could well go on to be similar to that of Rohit. “I think they are actually quite similar.
“When Rohit took over at Mumbai, he was quite a young man as well and he just sort of started out in his international career.

“I know they’re great mates and they probably exchange a few things about leadership and captaincy along the way as well,” the Capitals head coach said on the eve of his team’s IPL 2022 opener versus MI at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

“There is every opportunity for Rishabh’s journey to be quite similar to Rohit.

Mumbai Indians’ captain Rohit Sharma (below) at practice. MI

“Having taken over as a young captain of a successful franchise and growing on a daily basis, Rishabh can hopefully have the same sort of success that Rohit had had with Mumbai Indians.
“With some experience in a role like this in such a high-pressure tournament like the IPL, I’ve got no doubt that in years to come, there’s every chance that Rishabh could be an international captain. No doubt about it,” Ponting added.Speaking on how Pant has evolved, Australia’s twice World Cup-winning coach said: “The last couple of years with some more responsibility in and around the Indian team, obviously captaining

Jasprit Bumrah. MI

Delhi Capitals last season, there are a lot of learning experiences for him. It will just keep helping him become a better leader and a better person on a daily basis.

“There’s no doubt that he has matured over the last 12 or 18 months with his play… his leadership and captaincy has been outstanding too.”

Faith in Powell

The Capitals will be wearing a depleted look in their tournament opener versus MI. They will be without David Warner, who was a part of the Australian squad for the just-concluded Test series versus Pakistan. Proteas’ pacer Anrich Nortje (hip injury), along with his compatriot Lungi Ngidi and Bangladeshi quick Mustafizur Rahman are also not available.

Captain Pant, however, trusts the explosive Rovman Powell of the West Indies to come good at No.4 or 5 in the batting order.