IPL 2024: 'Jittery, nervous, excited' - Delhi Capitals' captain Rishabh Pant ahead of opener vs PBKS

Rishabh Pant, after 14 months of thehorrific car crashis set to return to competitive cricket with IPL 2024. He will take charge of the Delhi Capitals (DC) and lead them in their opening fixture, versus Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Chandigarh. Ahead of DC's clash versusPBKS, Pant shared his feelings about returning to the 22-yard cricket strip after a long hiatus.

In DC's pre-season camp, in Visakhapatnam, Pant said, "Jittery, nervous, excited- all of it, but at the same time, just happy, being able to come back to professional cricket. I'm just looking forward to playing my first game tomorrow," Pant further expressed. "Every time I take the field, it's a different feeling altogether. I just wanted to bat as much as I could and get better every day. I don't think much ahead, I take one day at a time, and give my 100%."

Speaking about the one-time finalists Delhi and theirapproach towards the games this season, Pantstated, "Most of the conversations are pretty simple, we just want to go out there, have fun, not complicate things and give our 100% in all the games."

'Rishabh Pantis the heartbeat of this franchise'

Meanwhile, head coach Ricky Ponting also spoke at length about the team's preparedness for the season. He opined, "Make no mistake, we have got a great team this year. Our preparations have been absolutely perfect. We are just looking to topping it off today, and make sure we put a performance that I know would be good enough to win the game tomorrow."

"We are about to start an IPL, it's really an exciting time of the year. It becomes more exciting when your captain is back in your team. He is our leader, he is the heartbeat of this franchise and having him back is going to make this team a lot stronger."

"We had a week's training in Vizag before coming here and trust me Rishabh is back and ready to play. He will be a little bit nervous tomorrow, playing his first game in a while but nerves are always good because it means something to you. I've seen where his game is at, and don't be surprised if something special happens tomorrow," the former Aussie captain added.

In IPL 2023, David Warner led DC in absence of Pant. They ended at the ninth spot and, hence,will be desperate to enter the playoffs and claim their maiden title.

DC Squad for IPL 2024:Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Kumar Kushagra, Ricky Bhui, Shai Hope, Prithvi Shaw, Harry Brook, Yash Dhull, Swastik Chikara, David Warner, Pravin Dubey, Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Sumit Kumar, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Jhye Richardson, Rasikh Salem