Rishabh Pant’s place cannot be filled, Warner will open: Ricky Ponting

New Delhi: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said here on Friday that the injured Rishabh Pant’s place cannot be filled and there is no player who can make an impact like him. Pant, who was injured in a car accident in December last year, is out indefinitely and Ponting wants his favorite player to be present in the Delhi Capitals dug out during home matches. Pant’s exit is a big blow and it doesn’t matter who we put in his place as we will still miss Rishabh, the former Australia captain told mediapersons here. I am not joking or hiding the fact that he is one of the best players in the world in all three formats of the game.

He said, ‘He (Pant) is among the top five batsmen in the world rankings for Test batsmen and our captain is our number four batsman in the middle order. He is the finisher for us and it is impossible to fill his place. Mumbai’s young all-rounder Aman Hakim Khan, however, has caught Ponting’s attention and seems quite impressed with him after two practice sessions at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Ponting said, ‘Aman Khan is a player who has impressed us a lot and we gave Shadrul Thakur to KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) to get him. I don’t know how much you have seen him playing but he impressed a lot in the last two days of practice. He said, ‘When we talk about power hitters in the middle order, we have players like Aman Khan, Rovman Powell and Akshar Patel. Axar’s batting has improved a lot in the last 12 months. We will find a way to fill Rishabh’s absence but we will not get the same skillful player.

David Warner may have batted at number four in the just-concluded third ODI against India but Panting made it clear that the newly-appointed Delhi Capitals skipper will open the innings in the form he has found success in the last two decades. . Panting said, ‘I don’t want Warner to bat at number four. He is the most successful opener in IPL history and we saw it in the matches he played for Delhi Capitals last year.

“He was our highest run-scorer and he won a lot of matches with his bat,” he said. Mitchell Marsh starred as opener in the series against India and Ponting says He will also bowl for Delhi in the IPL. He said, “He is a top-order batsman and all-rounder for us. He hasn’t bowled in matches yet after recovering from an ankle injury but he has been bowling for the last five-six weeks and his role in the team is to bowl a few overs.