IPL 2021 | Known how talented Pant is since the moment I laid eyes on him, claims Ricky Ponting 

There has hardly been any doubts about the talent of the Indian gloveman Rishabh Pant. His ability to bat fast and play the aggressive shots at will, makes him an X-factor for any team. And this year what stood out about him, has been the way, he has added a dash of maturity to his remarkable abilities that helped him play crucial knocks in the Australia and England Tests after sitting on the sidelines initially. He has even cracked the white-ball formats up to an extent, in whatever chances he got as seen against England. 

Now, the Indian dasher is all set to lead Delhi Capitals in the 2021 IPL. Ricky Ponting has revealed that he always found Pant talented and the way he has played in 2021 has been 'breathtaking'. 

"I have known how talented Rishabh is since the moment I laid eyes on him. When he got back into the Test squad in Australia, I actually made a comment before a ball was bowled in the second Test match that this will be the unearthing of a 15-year Test player for India. I think he's on track for doing that. His cricket in the last six-seven months has been nothing short of breathtaking and outstanding," Ponting was quoted as saying in a media release, reported TOI. 

There have been question marks as to how will Pant handle the responsibility of captaincy. However, DC's head coach remains confident that it will bring the best out of the 23-year-old as he likes taking responsibility. 

"I think extra responsibility is going to sit really well with him. He's that sort of a person that likes the responsibility, wants to be the main man and wants to be the leader, so I am really excited to see how he goes. We'll help him through, but honestly, I don't think he's going to need much help at all," Ponting said. 

The former Australian captain is said to be the mastermind behind all the tactics that the Delhi unit employs on the field. But, he's aware that the new captain shouldn't be overloaded with information. He also knows that it's his job to help Pant as much as possible which he will do.

"I think if we can get most of the talking with Rishabh about his captaincy done, leading into the first game then we don't have to worry about it as the tournament starts. The last thing you want is to be overloading the captain with all sorts of information once the tournament is underway," he said.

"It's a big part of my job, and other coaches and senior players' job to get behind Rishabh and help him where they need to. Not only during training, but during matches as well," Ponting added.

The two-time World Cup winning skipper also asserted that he's happy with his team and it's all about winning the tournament and feels DC have the team to do so. 

"I am thrilled with the players that we've got here, and I think we can win the IPL. Might as well go on record and say it now because that's what I am here for and that's what the players are here for.

"We've had our chat and it's all about winning and how we can go one step further from last year. But the other important thing for me is that we've got a very different group from the one we had last year. What happened last year doesn't matter. We've got to work out a way to win enough games to qualify and then win the final."