‘He always brings the energy out of every player’: Pant reserves special praise for Ponting, calls him 'family member'

A lot of fresh faces joining the Delhi Capitals camp after the mega auction held last month.

Delhi Capitals will look to carry forward their impressive show going into the new edition of the Indian Premier League. Despite not being able to lift the title even once, the team have produced consistent performances in the recent season and had finished top on the points table in their previous campaign.

Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant with coach Ricky Ponting. (Delhi Capitals)

With a lot of fresh faces joining the Delhi camp after the mega auction held last month, team captain Rishabh Pant is pleased with how things are placed at the moment.

"It seems like the team has been made for the first time. I observed every player during my first practice session with the team and it looks like everybody is in a good frame of mind. Everybody is enjoying each other's company," said the wicketkeeper-batter after attending his first training session with the side in Mumbai.

"At the moment, we are trying to understand what do the new players need during nets sessions. We are discussing the roles the players can take up during matches and the kind of team environment we would like to set up. We have spoken to the new players about the team environment we've had in the last few years," he added.

Speaking about working with head coach Ricky Ponting for yet another season, Pant said, "It's always special meeting Ricky Ponting. Whenever I meet him, it feels like I am meeting a family member. And he always brings the energy out of every player on the field. Everyone looks up to him and waits for him to say something different."

Meanwhile, Ponting had earlier expressed that it won't be an easy task for the new recruits to gel together quickly. However, the former Australia captain, who is a smart custodian himself, has come up with his own ways to help the side bind together and looks forward to the previously retained players to step up and guide the youngsters.

"I have told the boys to keep their doors open when they are in their rooms and get to know each other. I am going to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with all the younger guys that I don't know. When you show love towards the younger guys as a coach or a senior player, you know that they are going to give it back."

"The guys who have been in the Delhi Capitals camp for a while definitely have the responsibility of guiding the youngsters in the team. Rishabh's Captain, so he's going to do that anyway, but guys like Prithvi, Axar and Nortje will also have their roles and responsibilities within the team," said the former Australia captain.