Rishabh Pant makes 'emotional' return to competitive cricket as he leads DC in IPL game against PBKS

Rishabh Pant officially returned to his duties as Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper when he walked out for the toss with Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shikhar Dhawan ahead of Match 2 of IPL 2024 in Mullanpur. This will be Pant’s first competitive game since sustaining multiple injuries during a car accident in December 2022.

Follow LIVE | PBKS vs DC, IPL 2024 Match 2 

He had to undergo several surgeries and rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. As a result of his accident, Pant missed several key tournaments last year including IPL 2023 and the ODI World Cup. “Really emotional time for me. Just want to enjoy the moment. Not thinking much. I think not worried about last season. Really exciting times,” the 26-year-old said at the toss, after DC were asked to bat first.

Pant also said that DC were going ahead with four overseas batters in Shai Hope, Mitchell Marsh, David Warner and Tristan Stubbs.

This will be PBKS’ first-ever game at the MYS International Stadium in Mullanpur, and Dhawan said that his team was confident of getting some luck at the new venue. “It is a new pitch. We will look to come up with new strategies. We have made some changes. We are used to this ground now. We had a practice match. We will look for some luck on this venue,” said Dhawan, while adding that Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Kagiso Rabada were the four foreign players in the playing XI.

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Playing XI

PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan(Captain), Jonny Bairstow,  Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

DC: Rishabh Pant(Captain), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Ricky Bhui, Shai Hope, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma.