"I'm looking at the squads, Rajasthan has got a good squad as anybody" - Ricky Ponting names the Royals among the favorites to lift IPL 2023 

Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting spoke about the upcoming 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season and singled out previous year's finalists the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to repeat their dominant exploits.

The former Australian skipper has a mammoth role to play behind the scenes for the Capitals, especially in the absence of their captain Rishabh Pant.

The wicketkeeper-batter is still recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash back in December 2022 and has been ruled out for the entire season. Veteran Australian batter David Warner will lead the side in his absence.

Stating that GT and RR have a very good chance of making it to the final this year as well, Ponting said in the latest edition of the ICC Review:

"It's a tough question…as very rarely does a team dominate the IPL from the start to the finish. Obviously Gujarat (Titans) last year were amazing, a brand new team and were able to win the tournament."

Ponting continued:

"The other finalist last year, Rajasthan Royals, I think have got a really, really good squad. And we said that last year, immediately after the auction, we were pretty impressed with what they were able to do and put a good squad together."

Backing RR to perform well based on the squad they have on paper, Ponting added:

"They've only built on that again this year. I think Rajasthan will be there, thereabouts. It's a hard game to judge and a hard game to understand who's going to win. Who stands up in the moment will generally win more often than not. But if I'm looking at the squads, Rajasthan has got a good squad as anybody."

The Sanju Samson-led side had an exceptional campaign in 2022 but fell short in the final against GT. They finished second in the points table, with Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal winning the Orange and the Purple Cap, respectively.

While they have lost the services of speedster Prasidh Krishna for the season, they have included reinforcements like Jason Holder through the mini-auction.

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"I think there are some significant ways that you can tactically influence the game." - Ricky Ponting on the introduction of the Impact Player rule in IPL 2023

The IPL 2023 will also feature the new 'Impact Player' rule, which has been tried and tested out at various tournaments on a franchise and domestic level.

Sharing his thoughts on the new rule tweak, Ponting opined that it is an opportunity for coaches and captains to influence the game tactically:

“Let's wait and see. It's a nice innovation and it's definitely going to give a lot more work to the coaches once the game starts.

"I mean, normally as a coach, once the game is started, there's not much you can do to influence the outcome of the game. But with this. I think there are some significant ways that you can tactically influence the game."

Rajasthan will start their IPL 2023 campaign against SunRisers Hyderabad on Sunday, April 2.

Who will win IPL 2023? Let us know what you think.