Rishabh Pant makes his Test cricket comeback against Bangladesh, after a 632-day layoff. In spite of bringing enormous joy to India’s cricket fans, Pant’s return to the Test team gives the team the much-needed X factor.
On December 31, 2022, early in the morning, pictures of Rishabh Pant’s vehicle went viral and shocked the cricket world. Most of the Mercedes-AMG GLE was torched, and half of its bonnet was damaged. The world was only aware of Rishabh Pant’s rescue from the crash site and subsequent treatment. Later, when he was recovering, Pant talked about that tragic night and said he felt his time on world was up.
Pant started an extended recovery road after his initial hospital stay in Dehradun. After numerous surgeries, Rishabh was brought back up to speed by the National Cricket Academy’s coaching staff in Bengaluru, who worked around the clock. Pant’s return to the Indian team was initially expected to take at least two years. In February 2023, Sourav Ganguly, a former captain of India and current Delhi Capitals player, disclosed that Pant was going through a difficult period and would require a few years to resume playing at the highest level.
I had a few chats with him. He is obviously going through a difficult time, recovery from surgeries and injuries, and I hope the best for him. According to Ganguly, he will return to playing for India in a year or two at most.
But less than 1.5 years after his injury, Pant showed remarkable resilience as his recovery progressed and he returned to playing professional cricket in the Indian Premier League in 2024.
Pant’s Comeback in the Duleep Trophy
After his return to the white-ball teams, the wicketkeeper-batter was crucial to India’s victory in the T20 World Cup 2024. Pant’s comeback to T20Is was successful, but questions about his red-ball cricket fitness persisted. With a breathtaking comeback in the Duleep Trophy, the youthful wicketkeeper-batter dispelled all those misgivings. Pant was recognizable as the talkative, gregarious guy behind the wicket and the combative left-hander with the bat.
Pant made a prank at the Duleep Trophy that went popular on social media.
From behind the stumps, Pant said, “Isko (Kuldeep Yadav) single lene de, iske liye bohot tagda plan banaaya hai” (Let him take a single; I’ve created a strong plan for him).
Theek hai yaar, kyun pareshaan ho raha hai, Kuldeep said. (It’s alright, please relax!)
Then Pant exclaimed, “Phir out ho na jaldi (Then get out fast!)” and the two laughed together.
A happy body begins with a happy mind. The playful banter restored Indian supporters’ hopes that the team had taken its time preparing him for the red-ball workload and had not hurried his return.
Bangladesh vs India
India performed well in the Test matches in which Pant was not available. They won all of their matches at home and dominated the bilateral series with both Australia and England. In the World Test Championship final the previous year, India sensed his absence, nevertheless. Yes, India had good stand-ins for Pant in the form of Dhruv Jurel and KS Bharat, who both performed admirably in the gloves, but the middle-order just lacked that extra something.
In the pre-match press conference, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir addressed this and said that his team can win a game even when under stress with Pa
Not only is Pant’s comeback to Test cricket a triumph for the sport, but it is also a significant accomplishment for the BCCI, NCA, mental coaches, and physiotherapists. It should be honored that the mind overcame the body and persevered in the face of extreme adversity. With Pant back, India will be considerably more confident as they head into another World Test Championship final.
