IPL 2022, MI vs DC: Rishabh Pant is right choice for captaincy, no doubt in my mind, says Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting on Saturday backed Rishabh Pant after his strategic blunder cost the team a spot in the play-offs, saying he is still young and learning the ropes of captaincy and remains the right choice for the job. With Mumbai Indians at 95 for 3 in 14.3 overs while chasing a target of 160, Pant made a strategic blunder as he refused to go for DRS after Tim David nicked the first ball of his innings and the onfield umpire didn't give him out. It came back to haunt DC as David slammed 34 runs off just 11 balls with the help of two boundaries and four sixes to take the game out of DC's grasp.

"Absolutely, no doubt in my mind that Rishabh even in the last season he was the right choice for captain. Rishabh did a terrific job with the team after he took over from Shreyas (Iyer) after he injured his shoulders," Ponting said during the press conference after DC lost by five wickets against MI. "...he is just a young man and still learning captaincy.

Being captain of a T20 team, especially in IPL, which is a high pressure tournament, is not easy thing to do and unfortunately, every single thing you do will be scrutinised. He certainly got my full backing." Ponting said he was "gutted" to see the match slip away but didn't blame Pant for the loss. "It is always hard to put a finger on one single aspect of the game.

Top of the order our batting was poor, we were four down for 40, which is not the ideal way to start a T20 game, specially big games which you have to win," he said. "Obviously, Tim David played well. He was probably out first ball but there are so many aspects of the game we will be disappointed with.