Ricky Ponting is the head coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. DC begin their campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1.
New Delhi: Ricky Ponting didn’t hesitate in admitting that the ‘Impact Player Rule’ in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 almost negates the role of all-rounders in the game. The IPL 2023 will see the new rule, where a batter or bowler can be replaced in the middle of the game as per match situation in order to make the game more innovative and interesting.
“Actually, it almost negates the role of all-rounders in the game now as you don’t need to pick in all-rounders, name a batting or bowling heavy team and just take one out and bring another one in,” Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting told reporters during an event in the city on Friday.
“Unless they (all-rounders) are absolutely world class and they could be picked as a batter or bowler not as a bits and pieces guy, I don’t think you will see many teams actually use the guy that bats at No. 7 and bowls an over or two, You don’t need those guys anymore,” Ponting explained.
With no Rishabh Pant this season as the star wicketkeeper-batter is nursing several injuries he suffered in a horrific car crash, Ponting admitted it is impossible to replace the Indian southpaw, but Delhi Capitals will find a way to cover for him.
“He is a huge loss. He is one of the best players in all three formats of the game. Trying to replace him will be pretty much impossible but what we do in DC since I have been here is make sure we have got the best young talent available and work on them for a couple of years in making them better,” added the two-time World Cup-winning Australian skipper.
Ponting is pretty impressed with the local talents on offer, making a special mention for Aman Hakim Khan, who was traded from Kolkata Knight Riders at the expense of Shardul Thakur. “And we have got a few names. Sarfaraz Khan is one of them, then there is Yash Dhull, who has had another terrific domestic season and can easily slide into the middle order in this side.
“Lalit Yadav played some games last year. Aman Khan is one who has really impressed. We traded Shardul to KKR to get him in our squad. He is ultra impressive. I don’t know how much you have seen or know of him. His last couple of days training has been pretty special,” added Ponting.
Khan, who plays domestic cricket for Mumbai, was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. However, he didn’t get a chance to represent the two-time champions in IPL. For Mumbai, Khan has played six first-class games and 14 T20s.
“When you talk about losing some power in the middle order, if you can add someone like Aman Khan with Rovman Powell, even Axar Patel’s batting has improved, we will find a way to cover for Rishabh. We are not going to get the same quality as Rishabh, but we think we have as good as a middle order as any other team in the tournament.”
Mitchell Marsh, who had a brilliant ODI series against India that Australia won 2-1, Ponting revealed the 31-year-old will be used as a top-order batting all-rounder in IPL 2023. “He will the top-order batting allrounder for us. I think he is coming into this tournament in probably the best form he has been.
“In the past seasons in that No 3 slot, he plays some match winning innings. So he i a really important player for us and those world class international allrounders are hard to find,” added Ponting. Delhi Capitals open their campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1.
