IPL 2023: Rishabh Pant Accident – Delhi Capitals are in need of a replacement for Rishabh Pant. The 25-year-old will miss the entire or at least the first half of the Indian Premier league 2023. After a terrible car accident on Friday (December 30) morning, he did not have any broken bones or serious internal injuries, but the ligament tear will prevent the DC captain from playing cricket for close to six months. There are some players in the squad of Delhi Capitals who can captain the side. But there are no specialist keepers which can hurt them in season 16. Mohammed Azharuddeen, Baba Indrajith, Dinesh Bana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Priyank Panchal are in prime position to replace Pant. Follow InsidesSport.IN for LIVE updates about IPL Season 16
With a stroke of luck and some assistance from kind people, the wicketkeeper-batter managed to survive a fatal car crash. His sped-up Mercedes hit the railing and caught fire as he slept off behind the wheel. In addition to minor wounds on his back, Pant has two cuts on his forehead. However, the ligament injury in his knee will prevent him from working for at least three months. Depending on the severity, extra time might be needed.
IPL 2023: Worried Delhi Capitals in FIX, who to replace injured Rishabh Pant in team? Check 5 players DC can target: Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates
The most senior player with captaincy experience, David Warner, would assume the leadership role. Manish Pandey is another choice, but it seems unlikely given that he recently joined the team. In any event, DC won’t reveal the new captain until near the competition.
Delhi Capitals lack a qualified backup keeper to replace Pant in their team.
They do have Sarfaraz Khan, but he has only played sporadically and is not confirmed to start for Delhi’s XI. Khan has some experience keeping wickets in domestic cricket. Another possible option on the DC roster is Phil Salt, but Salt doesn’t play regularly for his home or Hundred clubs either, so adding Salt in the middle order would throw off the overseas lineup.
Here are 5 Indians who went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction and can act as Pant’s replacements:
Baba Indrajith
Baba Indrajith, a highly successful domestic first-class player, has yet to get an IPL contract. Baba Indrajith is a cornerstone for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He averages 52 in FC and 45 in List-A, but just 17 in T20 because of the small sample size of a few dozen games.
However, Baba Indrajith has a wealth of knowledge about Indian conditions and a record of tremendous domestic accomplishment.
Priyank Panchal
Priyank Panchal had a successful domestic cricket career but was unable to secure a spot in a franchise for IPL 2023.
Panchal has been the captain of Gujarat’s domestic cricket team and stands a good chance of playing for India in Test matches. In domestic cricket, he scored 12,270 runs, and while he was in charge of India A, his leadership abilities were evident.
The stroke master is in the perfect position to replace Pant in the upcoming IPL.
Dinesh Bana
Dinesh Bana was a member of the India U-19 squad that won the 2021 Under-19 World Cup. He blasted two sixes in the dying moments of the match against England U-19 to win the chase. In Haryana’s local white-ball teams this year, the 18-year-old keeper-batter Dinesh Bana has also made a name for himself. This season, he has played for his state in 8 T20 matches and 2 List-A games.
The teenager hasn’t had many opportunities to bat in a talented Haryana squad, but when he has, Bana has shown why domestic coaches think highly of him despite the IPL franchises’ decision not to make a bid for the player. If Pant is unable to play, the Delhi Capitals may try to sign Bana and develop another young keeper for India as they did with Pant in the past.
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Abhimanyu Easwaran, India A skipper, failed to find a buyer despite having a base price of Rs 20 lakh.
He expected a franchise to buy him since he is a part of Team India. But fate has something different for him in the store. Now he will have another chance to be part of IPL. He made his domestic debut in 2013. Since then he has amassed 9,680 runs over three different forms.
In the recently finished Test series against Bangladesh, he filled in for Rohit Sharma.
Mohammed Azharuddeen
Unexpectedly, Mohammed Azharuddeen, a Kerala wicket-keeper batter, wasn’t purchased during the IPL 2023 auction. Azharuddeen played for RCB in the IPL 2022 after being signed by the team for INR 20 lakh due to his success for Kerala in the T20 format.
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In only 37 balls against Mumbai in January 2021, Mohammed Azharuddeen scored the second-fastest century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. He received a lot of attention because of it. And RCB offered him an IPL contract; nevertheless, he played no games and was dropped for IPL 2023.
His SMAT 2022 performance was respectable. He scored 143 runs in 7 innings, with a top score of 95* off 47 balls against Karnataka was at a good strike rate of 150.
Delhi Capitals Squad IPL 2023: Rishabh Pant (c), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Phil Salt, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw.
IPL 2023: Worried Delhi Capitals in FIX, who to replace injured Rishabh Pant in team? Check 5 players DC can target: Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates
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