The moment everyone was waiting for could come sooner. Rishabh Pant is back at the nets. While he is still some time away from playing a competitive match, Pant has begun batting practice. Currently at the NCA, Bengaluru, Rishabh Pant faced throwdowns from the support staff before linking up with Rohit Sharma & Co who are there for the IND vs AFG 3rd T20.
Rishabh Pant batted for around 20 minutes at the nets and did not look uncomfortable. The young wicketkeeper-batter is still recovering from a near-fatal car crash in December 2022. Since then, he has had three ligaments reconstructed.
Back to the nets session, Pant did not face any bowlers. Instead, it was mainly a throwdown session and played some signature drives on the offside and some shots on the onside.
Following the session, he met India Cricket Team’s throwdown specialist Raghu before linking up with his India teammates Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rinku Singh among others. Shortly after meeting Pant, Team India began their practice session.
Rishabh Pant to come back in IPL 2024?
Delhi Capitals director Sourav Ganguly had confirmed that Rishabh Pant would return to competitive cricket in IPL 2024.
Sourav Ganguly, the Capitals’ director of cricket, too had exuded confidence in Pant’s return in this year’s IPL.
“He’s good now. He will play in the IPL next season. There’s still time for him to get down to practice. By January, he’ll get even better,” Sourav Ganguly told PTI during DC’s camp in Kolkata in November.
However, as fans wait eagerly for his return, there is still no definite date. Even though Pant has shown remarkable progress, he may have to limit his onfield duties to a batter alone. Wicketkeeping may take a while. Rishabh Pant last played for India against Bangladesh in the Mirpur Test in December 2022.
Rishabh Pant Injury Timeline
- December 2022: Pant suffers horrific car accident on December 30, 2022.
- January 2023: Pant is airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment at the Kokilaben hospital.
- February 2023: Pant undergoes knee ligament reconstruction surgery in Mumbai under Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala
- February 2023: Rishabh Pant returns home after spending nearly 45 days in hospital.
- April 2023: Pant attends DC vs GT IPL match in Delhi, making first public appearance since the accident.
- April 2023: First time since his accident, Pant begins walking without support at the NCA.
- June 2023: Pant continues gym sessions with Team India players.
- August 2023: Rishabh Pant continues his recovery but bats for the first time in public eyes.
- September: Misses both Asia Cup and World Cup as recovery continues.
- October 2023: More positive news on recovery but still not fit to play in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
- November 2023: Attends Delhi Capitals’ camp in Kolkata as recovery continues.
- December 2023: Rishabh Pant is present at IPL 2024 Auction Table and takes part in bidding for Mitchell Starc.
