New Delhi, 31 March: The Delhi Capitals' all-rounder Axar Patel feels that his appointment as the vice-captain of the team is reflection of his growth as a cricketer.

 "The role of Vice-Captain being given to me shows my personal growth as a cricketer. I'm excited about taking on the new role. It'll be my and David's responsibility to get the best out of each and everyone in the squad." he said

Axar also spoke about returning to the Delhi Capitals' home ground after four years, "It's always a different feeling when I join the DC camp. It was great to meet Ricky and speak to him about my new role in the team. It felt good to be welcomed by the DC fans at our home ground after so many years. The DC fans will be excited to cheer for us at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this season."

He also wished Rishabh Pant a quick recovery, "I'm in constant touch with Rishabh Pant. We'll definitely miss him and we wish that he recovers as soon as possible. Nobody can fill the gap that Rishabh has left. The entire DC family is praying for his recovery and his quick return to cricket."

Meanwhile the Heads Coach Ricky Ponting has been busy getting the team ready for the IPL at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.

When asked about the change of guard in leadership for this season, Ponting said, "I have spoken to Rishabh a bit. We are hoping to get him involved this season. I'd love to have him at all our home games. Having him in our dugout or our change room will be very special. However, David Warner will do a great job. He has been a successful franchise cricket captain in the past. He's excited to lead the team as well."

Talking about working with DC Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly,  he said "I have spoken to Sourav about the players we've got, possible line-ups, possible keepers and things like that. He has always got some good things to say to the players during training. It was a lot of fun to work with him in 2019 and we won a lot of games."

The former Australia captain  is also excited about the IPL moving back to the regular home and away format after three seasons, "It'll be harder on the players with much more travel in this IPL. But this is part and parcel of franchise cricket. I think more travelling makes the tournament more exciting. We'll get to play in a lot of different venues and in front of many different groups of fans."

The Delhi Capitals will take on Lucknow Super Giants in their first game of IPL 2023 on Saturday, 01 April at Lucknow.