Indian T20 League 2023: 3 Players who can lead Delhi if Rishabh Pant fails to recover after his road accident

On 30 December 2022, Rishabh Pant faced a horrible road accident while going to Roorkee from Delhi. During that journey, he hit his car with the railing and the car caught fire. The incident took place on the Narsan border of Roorkee near Hammadpur Jhal. As per the update from the Indian Cricket Board, Rishabh Pant has two cuts on his forehead and a ligament tear in his right knee.  

He has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, and toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back. However, his condition remains stable, and he has now been shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun. There, he will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries. So, it might be a tough task for the injured cricketer to get fit for the Indian T20 League 2023. 

Here are the top three candidates to become Delhi skipper if Rishabh Pant fails to recover for Indian T20 League 2023:

David Warner

David Warner (Image Source: Twitter) 

This star batter from Australia can be a good option for the Delhi franchise. He has experience being a leader or captain in the Indian T20 League. David Warner was the captain of the Hyderabad franchise when they won the tournament in 2016. As an individual batter also, Warner has been a legend in the history of this tournament.

As of now, he has played 162 matches where he has scored 5881 runs, at an average of 42.01. David Warner became the captain of the Hyderabad franchise in 2015. He did captaincy until the 2021 season before leaving the franchise for Delhi. So, if Rishabh Pat fails to recover, this Aussie can be a front-runner for captaincy despite being a foreign option.     

Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw (Image Source: Twitter)

This explosive opener batter can be a fantastic option for becoming the captain of the Delhi franchise in the Indian T20 League 2023. Prithvi Shaw has the experience of leading his Mumbai side in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season. He led his side to the final but they failed to cross the finish line by suffering a six-wicket loss against Madhya Pradesh.

In that season, Shaw scored 355 runs in 10 innings, at an average of 35.50. Speaking about his career in the Indian T20 League, he has played 63 matches where he has scored 1588 runs, at an average of 25.21. Shaw has also managed to score at a strike rate of 147.45. So, the franchise can consider Prithvi Shaw as a replacement for Pant as the skipper for the next season.    

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey (Image Source: Twitter)

This Indian batter can be another option to look out for as the skipper for Delhi. For the next edition of the Indian T20 League, this franchise bought him for INR 2.4 Crores. Manish Pandey has the experience of captaining his state, Karnataka. In 2018, he became the captain across all the formats.

In 2019, Manish Pandey won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy for Karnataka. He also registered a record 16th win as captain in T20s for the calendar year. Speaking about his career in the Indian T20 League, Pandey has played 160 matches where he has scored 3648 runs, at an average of 29.90. So, the Delhi team management might look at him as a possible replacement for Rishabh Pant.