"No one can make up for his absence" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant getting banned for Delhi Capitals' IPL 2024 clash vs RCB

Rishabh Pant has been banned for the Delhi Capitals' (DC) IPL 2024 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday (May 12) for maintaining a slow over rate in three previous games. Aakash Chopra reckons the DC skipper's absence is a huge blow for the visitors.

With 12 points from as many games, the Capitals are placed fifth on the points table. They might need to win their remaining two league games to keep their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Pant has been deservedly banned and claimed that the Capitals will miss his services.

"Rishabh Pant has been banned. If you have two spinners in your team (Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, and even Lalit Yadav at times) and your overrate is still slow three times, you deserve to be banned, but it's come at a very bad time," he said (12:05).

"This team had got a little momentum and Rishabh Pant is a very critical cog in the scheme of things - not as a wicketkeeper, because this team has a plethora of keepers, but Rishabh Pant the batter and Rishabh Pant the captain. This has become a point of concern. No one can make up for his absence," the former India opener added.

Chopra pointed out that Pant was a crucial bridge between the Delhi Capitals' top order and finishers. The wicketkeeper-batter has smashed 413 runs at a strike rate of 156.43 in 12 innings in IPL 2024.

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"This team has that might with or without Rishabh Pant" - Aakash Chopra on Delhi Capitals' potential to post a mammoth total

Jake Fraser-McGurk has been destructive at the top of the order for the Delhi Capitals. [P/C: iplt20.com]

However, Aakash Chopra reckons the Delhi Capitals can post a massive total even in Rishabh Pant's absence.

"The scales will be slightly tilted towards the chasing team since it's a night game. If you get to bat first and reach close to 225, you win nine out of 10 games, and this team has that might with or without Rishabh Pant because of the way Jake Fraser-McGurk starts, he actually runs like a bullet train. The opposing team does not have an attack that gives you sleepless nights," he reasoned (13:20).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel might have to play a bigger role with the bat against RCB.

"So Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel is a great partnership. If (David) Warner is available, he might play here. Tristan Stubbs comes in the end. There will be a little more pressure on Tristan Stubbs as he will have to play a slightly longer and better knock, or else the finish won't be strong. Axar Patel might be sent up the order to lengthen the batting slightly and Axar Patel does well at this ground," Chopra observed.

With 318 runs at a strike rate of 188.16 in 11 innings, Stubbs is the Capitals' second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. Axar has aggregated 164 runs at a strike rate of 126.15 in 10 hits this season.