Delhi Daredevils couldn’t have asked for a better man as head coach given the situation one of their youngest players unfortunately finds himself in
Rishabh Pant
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Bangalore: Delhi Daredevils couldn't have asked for a better man as head coach given the situation one of their youngest players unfortunately finds himself in. Paddy Upton came to India as the national team's mental conditioning coach and it is he who will handle Rishab Pant when he joined the side after the cremation of his late father.
Upton, the head coach of Delhi Daredevils, said: “It is very, very difficult particularly when a tragedy happens like this suddenly. He's a young man. So, we are going to really need the whole team to rally around him to give him a lot of support not only over the next couple of days but throughout the IPL.
“Something like this is obviously going to affect him in the medium and long term. We just have to be mindful and supportive of his personal and family situation,” the coach added.
Pant can perhaps also have a word with Virat Kohli, who despite losing his father one morning at 3 a.m., still turned up to bat for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka and ensured a draw for his side.
Meanwhile, talking of the senior-most player in the team and its skipper Zaheer Khan, Upton was quietly optimistic.
“At the end of the last tournament, Zaheer was very keen to come back and play the game again. He thoroughly enjoyed his captaincy. He knows his body very well and knows exactly what to do in terms of his conditioning, his rehabilitation, his diet.
“He has arrived in a better condition than he was last year. He has paced himself so that he is bowling fit,” said Upton.
“He is not only a very, very intelligent cricketer but also knows what exactly he has to do with his body to know what exactly he has to do to be ready to do justice as a captain and one of the key bowlers this year,” he added.
The Daredevils will indeed need both, young Pant and senior pro Zaheer, to ensure a better showing in this 10th season.
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