Rishabh Pant, who recently found glory in Sydney (the one in Australia mind you), is ready to put on his Test whites once again after almost two years from a life-changing incident in December 2022, when he was involved in a car crash that almost took his life.
The disastrous occurrence brought everything to a halt in his life, however, the southpaw Delhi wicket keeper batsman managed to bounce back after an equally astonishing escape. What remained however, were the question marks about his return to the fold of cricket and to have the same effect on the team that he had previously enjoyed.
After enduring such an injury earlier this year though and numerous operations and a long recovery, Mr. Rishabh Pant’s extraordinary tale saw him coming back to competitive cricket with the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he captained the Delhi Capitals (DC).
‘It is simply that: quite an incredible comeback’, had DC’s head coach at the time said to the Sky Sports while reflecting on scintillating forms of the cricketer.
His leg may even be visible now and listening to the narration where he starts about what has happened to him starting from a car crash which thrust him out of a car and pushed him along the road for about 40m at a velocity of 200 km per hour. I mean…Even for just about imagining the mental side of coming back from being wiped is unreal. How about the physical aspect, the rehab he has endured!
Set in last year I thought it was the last IPL season he’d play and hence was speaking to him over the phone. There was an auction coming up and we had to find out what to do next. He said from right twelve months prior to that, you guys do not panic about me. I will give you my word that I will be fit for the IPL,’ added ponting.
Since then Rishabh Pant has never looked back after returning to the IPL in grand style without any injury. He proceeded to feature in the T2o World cup in which India lifted the trophy earlier this year.
“Maintained every match (in IPL 2024), one of our (DC’s) top scorers, batted at number 3 in the (T20) World Cup, World Cup winning squad. This is an amazing comeback,” said ponting, who is the greatest batting strategist in the history of Australia and cricket.
Seeing Rishabh Pant in a Test match is akin to travelling in time to The Gabba, Brisbane in January 2021 when he crashed Australia’s fortress with a solid 89 not out in his very first test. It was the final match of the series and India had to beat a record target of 328 runs to win the series.
That fairytale ending is set for a repeat, and perhaps in Australia as well, in about three months when India goes down under for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
However, September 19 is going to be a very sentimental day for Rishabh Pant as he will be making an appearance in the Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the very first time.
