Fans have been praying for Rishabh Pant’s quick recovery and eagerly awaiting his return to the field ever since he was involved in a near-fatal vehicle accident in December 2022.As Pant gets ready to compete in the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) while wearing the Delhi Capitals jersey, the cricket community is eagerly awaiting his much-anticipated return.
Pant was spotted visiting the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi last year. He had gone at the time to support David Warner’s Delhi Capitals, who were the team’s coach. The talented batsman-wicketkeeper will take the captaincy once more this year. The franchise’s co-owner, Parth Jindal, made it clear that Pant would not be taking on wicketkeeping duties during the opening half of the competition.
Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket for the Delhi Capitals, expressed his happiness to see Pant return to the starting lineup. The former captain of India stated that Pant has worked hard to make a comeback and that he was confident in his ability to play for the Indian team as well as the Capitals.
“The Delhi Capitals will greatly benefit since Indian players are extremely valuable in the IPL. He hasn’t played cricket much, obviously, so hopefully he quickly finds his rhythm again. He has been away from competitive cricket for over 17–18 months. He has put a lot of effort into his recovery. He wants to play for India and the Delhi Capitals and is self-assured. “I’m so glad he’s back, and I hope he makes it through the season,” Ganguly told Revsportz.
Examining Rishabh Pant’s IPL performance
Pant gained notoriety in 2016 after an outstanding performance at the Under-19 World Cup. Prior to the 2017 Indian Premier League, the Delhi Capitals (formerly the Delhi Daredevils) signed him for INR 1.9 crore, and he went on to become the team’s face.
Pant has amassed 2,838 runs with a scorching strike rate of 147.97 and a respectable average of 34.61 in 98 IPL games. For the Delhi-based team, the 26-year-old has also amassed 15 fifty-score runs and one hundred runs. The Capitals will appear like a far more formidable team with Pant’s return than they did when they placed eighth in the standings the previous season.
The Punjab Kings and the Capitals will square off in the second encounter of the tournament on Saturday, March 23, at the Punjab Cricket Association’s IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. This match is the first of the afternoon session.