Rishabh Pant is fit to play the upcoming IPL as a wicketkeeper-batsman, the BCCI has confirmed. This will mark the return of the 26-year-old to competitive cricket after a gap of one-and-a-half years. Pant suffered an unfortunate car accident in December 2022.
“After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30th, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming TATA IPL 2024,” said a BCCI statement on Tuesday.
This also makes the left-hand batter a strong contender to be in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean. The ICC event will follow the IPL and will be played from June 1 to 29.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already said that Pant would play the T20 World Cup if he can keep wicket. “If he can play the T20 World Cup for us, that will be a big thing for us,” Shah told reporters in Dharamsala, on the sidelines of the fifth Test between India and England. “He is a big asset for us. If he can keep, he can play the World Cup. Let’s see how he does in the IPL.”
Coming back to competitive cricket after such a long lay-off and without match fitness, however, is a big challenge and it needs to be seen what role Pant plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL. He has been training with his franchise and participated in a few practice games. He also kept in one of the matches.
“It’s a big decision we will have to make because if he (Pant) is fit, you would think he would step straight back into that captaincy role,” said Ricky Ponting, the Delhi Capitals head coach, recently.
He added: “If he is not entirely fit and we have to use him in a slightly different role, then we have got some decisions to make there.”
Pant suffered a harrowing accident when his car collided with a road divider and subsequently caught fire. The cricketer suffered multiple injuries, including a ligament tear in his right knee and abrasions on his back.