Pant eager to take on Dhoni in first match as captain

Mumbai, April 6

Rishabh Pant cannot wait to start his captaincy stint with Delhi Capitals and his first match in charge will be against mentor Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. Delhi will take on Chennai Super Kings here on Saturday. Pant is hoping to use what he has learned from Dhoni to upstage him in their IPL clash.

“My first match as captain will be against Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai. It will be a good experience for me as I have learned a lot from him,” Pant said. “I have my own experience as a player as well. I’ll apply my own experience and the learnings from MS Dhoni, and try to do something different against CSK,” the 23-year-old added.

Pant, who has scored 2,079 runs in 68 IPL matches, said he would be working hard to give DC their maiden IPL title.

“...I am looking forward to making most of this opportunity. We haven’t won a title yet and I will try my level best to get a title this year. We’ve been playing nicely as a team for last two-three years and our preparations are going on well,” he said.

“Everyone looks in great frame of mind. Everyone is giving his 100 percent and is happy in the team environment, and that’s what you want as a captain,” he added.

When asked about the influence of head coach Ricky Ponting on the team, Pant said, “He (Ricky) has been so amazing for us in the last two-three years. He brings energy to the team and as a player when you see your coach and you’re thinking this is the man from whom you can learn a lot, then nothing is better than that. Hopefully, we will cross the line this year.” — PTI