Rishabh Pant Prepares for Duleep Trophy Comeback After Road Accident
New Delhi [India], September 3: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is gearing up for his return to red-ball cricket in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting from September 5. Pant shared a video on Instagram showcasing his practice sessions, including classy drives, lofted hits, and reverse sweeps. In his caption, he wrote, “I try not to have expectations because they can tend to tear you apart. I try to work as hard as I possibly can and give every ounce of a hundred percent & keep Learning from it. #RP17.”
After a severe road accident in December 2022, Pant made his competitive cricket comeback during the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he captained Delhi Capitals. The team finished sixth with seven wins and seven losses. Pant scored 446 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of over 155, including three half-centuries, making him the team’s top run-scorer.
Pant was also a crucial member of India’s ICC T20 World Cup-winning team, being the third-highest run-scorer for India in the tournament. He scored 171 runs in eight matches and made 14 dismissals, the most by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 World Cup edition. His performances were instrumental in ending India’s 13-year ICC World Cup drought.
With the two-match Bangladesh Test series starting at home from September 19, all eyes will be on Pant’s performance in the Duleep Trophy, where he will play for India B. Pant has been a key player in red-ball cricket, scoring 2,271 runs in 33 Tests since 2018, with an average of 43.67 and a strike rate of over 73. He has five centuries and 11 fifties, with a top score of 159*.
Fans are particularly excited to see him in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia starting November 22. Pant has an impressive record in Australia, scoring 624 runs in seven matches at an average of over 62, including a century and two half-centuries.
Revised Squads for Duleep Trophy First Round
| India A | India B | India C | India D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat | Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (wk) | Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wk), Sandeep Warrier | Shreyas Iyer (capt), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (wk), Saurabh Kumar |
Doubts Revealed
Rishabh Pant -: Rishabh Pant is a famous Indian cricketer known for his aggressive batting and wicket-keeping skills.
Duleep Trophy -: The Duleep Trophy is a domestic cricket competition in India where different regional teams compete against each other.
Red-ball cricket -: Red-ball cricket refers to the traditional form of cricket played with a red ball, usually in Test matches and first-class games.
Road accident -: A road accident is when a vehicle crashes, which can cause injuries. Rishabh Pant had a serious one in December 2022.
IPL -: The IPL, or Indian Premier League, is a popular cricket tournament in India where teams from different cities compete.
Delhi Capitals -: Delhi Capitals is a team in the IPL, and Rishabh Pant is their captain.
ICC T20 World Cup -: The ICC T20 World Cup is an international cricket tournament where teams from different countries compete in T20 matches.
India B -: India B is one of the teams in the Duleep Trophy, representing a group of Indian cricketers.
Bangladesh Test series -: The Bangladesh Test series is a set of cricket matches played between India and Bangladesh in the Test format.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy -: The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is a series of Test cricket matches played between India and Australia.
