Ricky
Ponting, the head coach of Delhi Capitals, said he has no doubt that Rishabh
Pant can emulate Rohit Sharma’s captaincy success with Mumbai Indians with India if he is given the opportunity in the future. Ponting also said Pant has
the qualities to become an international captain.

Also Read: Delhi Capitals camp in ‘good frame of mind’: Skipper Rishabh Pant ahead of IPL 2022

Wicketkeeper-batter
Pant is currently the captain of Delhi Capitals. He took over the captaincy from
Shreyas Iyer last season after the latter was ruled out of the IPL 2021 due to
an injury.

”With
some experience in a role like this in such a high-pressure tournament like the
IPL, you know, I’ve got no doubt in years to come there is every chance that
Risabh could be international captain. No doubt about it,” Ponting said during
a virtual media interaction on the eve of their IPL-15 opener against Mumbai
Indians.

Also Read: IPL 2022: ‘Shreyas Iyer is the potential superstar of the game’

Similar leadership qualities

Ponting,
who was earlier associated with Mumbai Indians as a player cum coach, saw the
rise of Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians. Rohit won five IPL
titles for Mumbai Indians, which is the most in the history of the T20 league.
Ponting feels both Pant and Rohit have similar leadership qualities.

”I
haven’t thought about that actually. But 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. He would probably be
about 23-24, similar age to what Rishabh over here.

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”To
be totally honest, they’re actually quite similar people. I know they’re great
mates and they probably exchange little things about leadership and captaincy
along the way as well,” he said.

”There
is every opportunity for Rishabh’s journey to be quite similar to Rohit Sharma.
Taking over as a young captain of a successful franchise and growing on a daily
basis… Hopefully, Rishabh can have the same sort of success that Rohit had on
Mumbai Indians,” he added.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Shane Watson reveals the reasons for taking up coaching role with Delhi Capitals

Dramatic evolution 

Ponting
also said that Pant became a mature cricketer over the years.

”This
is my fifth season nowhere and the evolution of Rishabh as a player and as a
person has been quite dramatic.

”The
last couple of years with some more responsibility in and around the Indian
team, obviously captaining Delhi Capitals last season, there’s a lot of
learning experiences for him.

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”It
will just keep helping him become a better leader and a better person on a
daily basis. There’s no doubt that his maturity over the last 12 or 18 months
with his play but also with his leadership and captaincy has been outstanding,”
Ponting signed off.