Ahead of their IPL 2023 opening game, Delhi Capitals (DC) are set to name replacement player for injured Rishabh Pant. The DC captain was ruled out of the 16th edition of Indian Premier League as he is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in the car accident in December 2022. David Warner was named as the captain for DC for IPL 2023. Pant's like-for-like replacement will be Bengal wicketkeeper and batter Abhishek Porel, said a report.


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Porel is a good wicketkeeper and bats left-handed for his Ranji Trophy side Bengal. DC will be playing their first match of the tournament on Saturday (April 1) vs Lucknow Super Giants at Lucknow's Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The 20-year-old Porel made his domestic debut last season and in just one-year time finds a place in the strong Delhi Capitals squad.


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Delhi Capitals' IPL 2022 performance

In IPL 2022, Rishabh Pant led the Capitals but they failed to qualify for the playoffs. They finished at No 5 with 7 wins from 14 matches. This year, under Warner's leadership, DC will be aiming to cross the playoffs hurdle first. Thetop two finish will give them an additional chance to remain alive in the tournament.


Delhi Capitals' match-winners


Pant will be playing 11 this season for Delhi Capitals. His absence puts extra resposibilities on some DC veterens. The likes of Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will have to step up and deliver the goods. One of the big players for DC, apart from the four above-mentioned players, will be Australia's Mitchell Marsh. DC head coach Ricky Ponting is expected to play Marsh at No 3 spot. Marsh was in superb form in the ODI series vs India where he finished as the top-run scorer with 194 runs from 3 matches at an average of 97 and strike rate of 131.08.