Chandigarh, Mar 21 (IANS): As Delhi Capitals gear up for their opening match against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here, head coach Ricky Ponting and Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly shared some insights on Rishabh Pant's readiness for the upcoming season.

Pant is returning to competitive cricket after a huge gap of 14 months during which he was recuperating from injuries suffered in a near-fatal car crash in December 2022. Thus, everyone is anxious and curious about Pant's readiness for the 2024 IPL season, especially after the JSW and GMR co-owned franchise named him as their captain.

Sharing his thoughts on Pant's approach at the pre-season camp, Ponting said, "He has probably batted more in the last week than he has ever batted leading into most of the IPLs. I think from his point of view, he wants to get a bit of trust back in his body again.

"He has been putting himself through a few different paces and playing all the shots that he plays. He has been great, and more importantly, he has got a smile on his face, which is what all we love to see," said Ponting on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ganguly reflected, "I'm surprised with the improvements he has made. Hopefully, it's a good season for him because he has gone through a lot emotionally. It's never easy when you go through that sort of injury. It will be great to see him back not just for the Delhi Capitals, but for the Delhi Ranji team and India as well because he is a special talent, a special player."

The star wicketkeeper-batter was reappointed as the captain of Delhi Capitals earlier this week.

Speaking about Pant's qualities as captain, the Australian legend said, "We all love his infectious attitude and smile around the group. Although he is still young, he has actually played a lot of cricket. He sets an example, he has a lot of energy and that's why other people tend to follow."

Former India captain Ganguly stated that he will keep a close watch on Pant's captaincy. "He is not the conservative type of batter, so you expect that character in his captaincy. Nobody comes as a ready-made captain. You learn as you go and I think captaincy is by instinct. I'm looking forward to watching him during the tournament," he concluded.

The Delhi Capitals will take on Punjab Kings in their first match of IPL 2024 in Chandigarh on March 23.