‘It was my first season as captain in the IPL’: Shikhar Dhawan opens up on leading Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan has revealed that Rishabh Pant was not even able to perform basic chores like going to washroom all by himself after surviving a horrific car crash in December 2022 but his “positive intent” had helped the star keeper-batter overcome those gloomy days to return fit and strong for the upcoming IPL.

“He was in such pain that he wasn’t even able to move or do anything for the first few months. Even for the toilet, he needed someone’s assistance. From that rough phase to now, he has shown a lot of patience, positivity, and tolerance, and it’s a huge thing,” Dhawan told Star Sports on Tuesday.

“It surely gave him a lot of strength, and I am sure he is going to do wonders for himself and the country,” said Dhawan.

Pant suffered injuries to his forehead, sustained serious knee injury, had also hurt his right wrist, ankle and toe in the accident.

Pant will be leading the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL season after missing the previous edition due to the injuries, and Dhawan said he was “excited” to see the wicketkeeper-batter returning to action after more than a year.

“I am very happy and excited to see Rishabh back in action. He has survived such a fatal accident, all thanks to God. In this last one year, he has worked so hard and shown such positive intent.” Dhawan, who was bought by Punjab Kings in the 2022 auction and replaced Mayank Agarwal as skipper last year, said the likes of Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada were raring to go in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

“The squad last year was good as well, and it was my first season as captain in the IPL. There was lots of learning, and I think this year (Liam) Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, (Kagiso) Rabada, (Rilee) Rossouw, Sam Curran, Johnny Bairstow and myself, all of us are ready to go.

“Everyone is great, and we just want to create a good environment and play with confidence and enjoy ourselves,” he added.