Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals celebrate head coach Ricky Ponting’s birthday ahead of auction day in Dubai | WATCH

Dubai: Delhi Capitals celebrated their coach Ricky Ponting’s birthday in Dubai and Rishabh Pant was also present at the mini-auction that will take place on December 19 at Coca-Cola Arena Dubai.

Ponting is celebrating his 49th birthday in Dubai with his IPL franchise. DC captain Rishabh Pant was also seen eating cake with the former Australia captain. Ponting’s video has gone viral on social media and here is the clip:

A special day in several respects #YehHaiNayiDilli @RickyPonting @RishabhPant17 pic.twitter.com/hTfD2KjryA

— Capitals of Delhi (@DelhiCapitals) December 19, 2023

Pant has now been out of action for a year after a near-fatal car accident last year, and is expected to play again in IPL 2024.

“You know, as a kid I thought maybe one day I could sit at the table, somehow help a team or something. I never thought I’d make it happen, but somehow things are in place and I can do it, and [I am] happy that I can do it.

“I think it will hopefully be a great experience because this is something new (for me). Lots of love to the fans and I hope we get what we want from the auction I guess,” Pant said in a video posted by the IPL manager on social media.

“Nervousness is definitely something I need to work on, because when you do something exciting or new, the nervousness is always there. Yes, this is my first time, but I want to grow as an individual and learn what I can from it. [It’s] really exciting because I don’t know if many people have done it or not, but I would love to be part of it – something exciting, something new,” he added.

He went on to talk about his recovery process, saying that he was “lucky to be alive” and that it was quite challenging at first as he had to endure a lot of pain.

“The kind of accident I had, [I’m] lucky to be alive. I think it was quite a challenge, especially the first part I would say more from a physical point of view because there was a lot of pain to endure in the beginning. But looking at the journey so far, I think it’s going very well from a recovery perspective. “I felt like I couldn’t face the people and stuff, and I felt like I had to do something that gives me confidence,” he said.

Earlier, it was reported that Delhi Capitals management officials have stated that Pant, who is undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru, is expected to be fit again by the end of February.

Delhi Capitals has a remaining purse of 2895 crores and has room for nine players, six of which are Indian and three are overseas.