Ricky Ponting hopes Delhi Capitals’ first-choice picks Anrich Nortje and David Warner will be available for his team’s next Indian Premier League 2022 match on April 7 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
DC have played their first two matches with mixed results without their two incumbents, winning the opening game against Mumbai Indians but going down heavily versus Gujarat Titans.
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Speaking to reporters after the loss to Titans in Pune, Ponting provided a positive update on both Nortje and Warner, signalling their timely inclusions to the playing XI for the upcoming fixture against newcomers LSG.
Nortje, Ponting said, bowled at full tilt in the warm-ups before the Titans’ fixture and needs to continue building intensity of “maybe four or five-over spell at 100% capacity”, which shall then lead to a clearance from Cricket South Africa for him to resume on-field duties.
Near completion of an extended rehab from a back and hip injury, Nortje, who hasn’t played any form of the game since the T20 World Cup last November, opted to reach India for the IPL 2022. The pacer now looks set to get a green signal from CSA and DC think-tank to take on the Giants and kick off his campaign.
For Warner, the late arrival was down to a Cricket Australia NOC rule that allowed Australian players to play in the IPL 2022 only after April 5.
Despite being rested from the white-ball leg of the national team’s Pakistan tour, Warner couldn’t immediately take part in the IPL across the border. He reached Mumbai on Saturday and entered the necessary three-day quarantine. Ponting expects him to be up and ready for the LSG game.
In another positive development, the head coach said premier allrounder Mitchell Marsh is also recovering quite nicely from his injury that had threatened his participation in the tournament. Ponting said Marsh could well be seen in the playing XI for DC’s fixture on April 10 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
