‘He fits it perfectly’ – Sourav Ganguly backs Rishabh Pant to shine on DC return

Sourav Ganguly was appointed Delhi Capitals head coach on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, taking over from Hemang Badani who had led the franchise for the previous two seasons. This marks Ganguly’s first coaching role with an Indian Premier League team, though he has been involved with Delhi’s setup in various capacities since 2019. Ganguly also served as head coach of Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 earlier this year.

Rishabh Pant has been reinstated into Delhi Capitals after being traded for Kuldeep Yadav. The wicketkeeper-batter played 111 matches for Delhi Capitals and scored 3,284 runs before joining Lucknow Super Giants in 2025. During his two seasons with LSG, Pant accumulated 581 runs across 28 matches. He stepped down as Lucknow’s skipper after the side finished at the bottom of the table in IPL 2026 and has now returned to his former franchise.

“We needed a middle-order batter and Pant fits it perfectly. He was with us and he played well for us. Next year, when he turns up again, I think he’ll use the time and space and the matches to become a better player,” Ganguly said as quoted by Outlook.

“You know he enjoys batting at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi and hopefully we’ll see the best of Pant in the years to come for the Delhi shirt,” he added.

Ganguly’s vision for Delhi Capitals

Ganguly has been associated with Delhi Capitals since 2019 and was involved in building the squad that reached the IPL final in 2020. He stepped away to serve as BCCI president but has now returned to the franchise with clear objectives for the upcoming season. Delhi finished sixth last season and have not made the playoffs since 2021, making Ganguly’s appointment a significant moment for the franchise.

“Well I am very, very excited. I have been there with them for two seasons, one season as director of cricket. My first season was 2019, we lost in the semis and then I went away as BCCI president. So I am really excited for the season ahead. Delhi is a very good side and I will be giving my best to make the side successful. It’s a good team with KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, it’s a pretty strong team and and I hope we play to our potential and I hope everyone understands how good they are and goes and expresses themselves,” said Ganguly.

“Motivation is to take Delhi to the top. In 2019 and 2020, Delhi was a very good team. I was involved in making the team but then I left and became BCCI president. So from that point of view that motivation will always remain to take that squad to a different level. I think that’s what I will be looking out for from the players because there’s enormous talent in the dressing room,” he concluded.