Rishabh Pant has reacted after the major update from BCCI, which came just hours after the board secretary expressed his “T20 World Cup” wish.
It’s official! Rishabh Pant is all set to return to competitive action, in the impending 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals as the BCCI’s fitness and medical teams declared him “fit as a wicket-keeper batter.” And the India star has reacted after the major update, which came just hours after the board secretary expressed his “T20 World Cup” wish on Pant.
Rishabh Pant has been declared fit to participate in IPL 2024
“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,” read the BCCI release on Pant which also mentioned updates on Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Shami, both of whom have recently undergone surgery.
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Pant last played for India in December 2022 after which he incurred a horrific car accident on his way home. It resulted in a right knee injury, requiring a ligament reconstruction surgery, besides fracturing his wrist and ankle. After completing his rehabilitation process at the NCA through the better part of 2023, he played his first full match earlier in February this year under the watchful eyes of physios and trainers. He reportedly did not incur any discomfort through the match, but did not keep wickets.
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Amid updates on his possible return since the start of this year, Pant was confirmed as the captain of Delhi Capitakls for the upcoming IPL season, but speculations remained on whether he would feature as a batter or don the keeping gloves as well.
On Monday, speaking to the media, Shah dropped a major hint on India’s T20 World Cup plans pertaining to Pant. He said: “If he can play the T20 World Cup for us, that will be a big thing for us. 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.”
With Pant being declared fit by the BCCI, Shah’s dream could just come true.
Although the star India cricketer is yet to speak on his official return to action after nearly 15 months out, he did drop a reaction after the significant announcement on Tuesday writing: “Keep smiling.”
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Pant will become the cynosure for Delhi Capitals at the 2024 IPL season with him fighting for the toughest spot in the T20 World Cup squad. As many as five players stand in fray to become the wicketkeeper-batter for India in the World Cup team – KL Rahul, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel.
