One of the high points of the Duleep Trophy so far has been Rishabh Pant’s return to red-ball cricket, and now he is likely to make his comeback to Test cricket as India gets ready to take on Bangladesh later this month. He has not played Test matches since the car accident in December 2022 and found a place in the squad for the series-opener starting on September 19.
‘Rishabh Pant, One Of India’s Best Test Batsmen’: Says Ganguly
“I’m not surprised to see Pant getting back into Test cricket as soon as he was fit”, said India’s one of the most respected captains and former BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly.
“I consider Rishabh Pant one of India’s best Test batsmen. I’m not surprised that he’s back in the side, and he will continue to play for India in Tests,” Ganguly said at a promotional event here.
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Pant Was On His Career High Before The Car Accident
Before getting ruled out for over a year following his car accident in December 2022, Rishabh Pant had grown into one of the most destructive Test batsmen around the world. He scored 2,271 runs in 33 Test matches, with five centuries and eleven half-centuries at an average of 43.67. His career strike rate of 73.63 shows his aggressive approach towards playing. He has scored two centuries each in England and one each in Australia and South Africa.
Ganguly works closely with Pant in the IPL as the Director of Cricket and mentor for the Delhi Capitals, and he, too, mentioned that his return to Test cricket is assured. Ganguly also pointed out that Pant has to bring his limited-overs form in order.
Rishabh Pant Makes A Remarkable Comeback
“He will be an all-time great in Tests if he keeps performing like this. For me, he needs to get better in the shorter formats. With the talent he has, I’m sure with time, he will become one of the best,” he said.
Rishabh Pant made comeback to cricket this year after horrific car accident in December 2022. He made his first appearance after the accident in the India Premier League (IPL) and scored 446 runs. He then went on to play the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 where he accumulated 171 runs, Pant also showed his powerful wicket-keeping skills and took 13 catches besides stumping.
Recently Rishabh Pant was named in India vs Bangladest, first Test squad.
Team India Squad- Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
