In cricket some destinies are destined , Hardly anyone knew that the hero of the famous Gabba win and the swashbuckling middle order wicket keeper batter in Tests Rishabh Pant would meet the fate of destiny to halt his cricketing journey for a brief period of time. The Indian team who had the torrid time in ICC events in 2023 and by year end a horrified test match vs South Africa had surely remembered and missed Rishabh Pant.
As fate could have it on the morning of December 30 2022, Rishabh Pant on his way back home met with a fateful accident and had a lucky escape. However this accident indeed turned out to be fateful for the Indian Cricket Team over the next year 2023 as Indian selection committee was caught in dilemma to replace a player like caliber of Pant who with his pyrotechnics with the bat could swing the game anytime in team’s favor especially in red ball cricket.
The Aura of Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant through his flamboyance in the tour down under 2021-22 and the English tour months later had already made a mark in the mind of former cricketers and India seemed to have found an able hitter at No 6 who could now be compared to likes of Adam Gilchrist of Australia changing the facet of how test cricket could be played.
Pant (26) had a lucky escape after he was severely injured in a car accident that took place on the morning of December 30, 2022. The stumper’s car collided with a divider on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.
The keeper-batter has made impressive progress during the rehabilitation period. According to reports, he could return to cricket ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup in USA and the West Indies. In Pant’s absence, David Warner captained Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 edition. The former attended the mini-auction in Dubai earlier in December , but there are conflicting reports about his availability for IPL 2024.
Even now when India is carrying out wicket keeper batters for positions in the national team for the upcoming marquee event the name of Rishabh Pant who is said to play IPL post his return also comes up as an potential candidate in wicket keeper slot alongside the likes of KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson to be amongst the others.
Former Indian left arm speedster Zaheer Khan however feels that Rishabh pant even after he performs terrifyingly well in IPL 2024 would find it difficult to get to the Indian squad of the marquee event in 2024.
Rishabh Pant has a lot of hurdles to cross- Zaheer Khan
Former Indian star left arm pacer Zaheer Khan reckons Rishabh Pant won’t be India’s scheme of things for this year’s T20 World Cup even if he has a good run in IPL 2024. Pant has been out of action since suffering serious injuries in a horrific car accident in December 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter is expected play for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, although it’s not yet clear whether he will be donning the wicketkeeping gloves.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Zaheer Khan, was asked if Pant has a chance to make India’s T20 World Cup side if he has a good IPL. He responded:
“If you see Rishabh Pant’s journey, the turn he has gone through is not easy for any player. Firstly, everyone who is attached to cricket will be happy once he comes back on the field. He has a lot of hurdles to cross.”
The former left-arm pacer added:
“Firstly, he has to come back and play. It’s not easy at this level. You need to get used to it and get the rhythm back. Those things might take time. It’s great if it doesn’t. However, keeping all things in mind, even if he has a very good IPL, I don’t think the team will be thinking in that direction.”
Khan highlighted that the planning for big tournaments like the T20 World Cup is done well in advance.
Former Left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha feels two players are currently ahead of Rishabh Pant in the wicket-keeper slot race
Pragyan Ojha named KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma when asked about the frontrunners for the wicketkeepers’ positions, saying:
“Based on what I am seeing, I feel it will be KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma. Rishabh Pant’s name will always be taken because of the impact he has made. However, it needs to be seen how he proves his fitness.”
“You need to be a little realistic. You have to keep your emotions aside at times. It needs to be seen where he actually is, and how he proves himself in the first four or five matches of the IPL, fitness-wise and not skill-wise. If we talk about the present situation, I feel KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma are making a strong claim.”
Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson were the wicketkeeper-batters in India’s squad in the recently concluded T20I series against Afghanistan. Rahul did not make the squad for the three-match series at home but is expected to play at No 5 for his IPL team Lucknow Super Giants this IPL season. It would thus bee interesting to see how Rishabh Pant carves his way back to the Indian dressing room amongst stiff competition.