Former India opener Aakash Chopra has hailed Rishabh Pant’s potential comeback for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as captain and batter as a miracle. Since sustaining serious injuries in a car accident, Pant has been out of competitive cricket, but reports suggest the swashbuckling batter is set to return for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, possibly without donning wicketkeeping gloves.
Pant is on track for a much-anticipated return to the IPL after participating in a practice game staged by his side Delhi Capitals in Alur, Karnataka. Pant, who was involved in a tragic vehicle accident in December 2022, is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and is trying hard to achieve match fitness before the IPL begins in the second part of March.
Rishabh Pant has scored 2838 runs in 98 IPL games, averaging 34.61 and striking at 147.97. He did not have a terrific IPL 2022, his last appearance in the event, scoring 340 runs at an average of 30.91 and a strike rate of 151.79 in 14 games.
“There are filtered reports that Rishabh Pant will be seen playing this year in the IPL, which is absolutely phenomenal. It is miraculous, considering where he came from and where he has reached. Cricket is a very small part of life. It’s very important but cricket is there only if there is life. The sort of accident it was, I was just happy that he was alive. I am pretty sure he would have had to work very hard during the journey from there to here because it’s difficult and extremely lonely as well,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra believes that Rishabh Pant’s captaincy will be advantageous for the Delhi Capitals, although he does not foresee Pant being utilized as an Impact Player and acknowledges that Pant is unlikely to keep wickets.
“It’s a very good thing if he (Pant) captains because David Warner, as much as he is a good player, there were serious questions over his captaincy last year. Although Ricky Ponting said Warner would manage, Axar Patel might be saying that he can bat and bowl. Mukesh Kumar would also be saying that one day Warner remembered only in the 19th over that he is a bowler as well. You don’t see such mistakes from a captain but they were happening and on a regular basis. I feel Delhi Capitals should be happy if Rishabh Pant is available for captaincy,” Chopra elaborated.
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