New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer and coach Ravi Shastri said that he didn’t hope Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to make a comeback to cricket after going through a horrific accident in 2022. The player is gearing up for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth.
Pant suffered a car-crashing accident on December 30, 2022, while he was driving from Delhi to Roorkee. He got two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in knee, massive injuries on back apart from bruises on toe, ankle and wrists.
He was absent from all forms of cricket for around 15 months before making his way back during the IPL 2024 followed by India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the USA and West Indies this year. Since then, Pant also resumed his role in the red-ball format as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter.
Shastri recalled his personal reaction when he visited Pant at the hospital and lauded the player for making a steady comeback on the field.
“Honestly, if you had seen him you would not have given him a hope in hell to play cricket again. I will never forget it. He was in terrible shape. I went to see him in hospital a month after he was injured. He was battered and bruised, scarred all over,” Shastri was quoted as saying by news.com.au.
“He had a massive operation and had stitches all over the place. From there to simply recover and play cricket was a miracle. To then go on and play in a World Cup-winning team and be a part of the Test team is a truly remarkable achievement,” Shastri added.
Rishabh Pant returns to Australia after Gabba heroics
Rishabh Pant was architect in India’s series triumph in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy even after the team saw many key players being benched due to various injuries. The explosive innings in the 328-run chase earned him lot of plaudits as India won back-to-back Test series in Australia.
“He returns to Australia for this tour in form and a man Australia fears, an unthinkable prospect when he was bailed up in hospital unable to walk,” Shastri said.
“When you speak to him now the respect he has for the game is even more. He was nowhere. Suddenly he is back and he values that. But I have seen him work really, really hard over the past few months to get in to the shape he is to play Test cricket,” he added.
India and Australia will play five Test matches in a month-and-a-half long series. The series will be played from November 22, 2024, to January 7, 2025 with Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney will host all five matches.
Former Indian cricketer and coach Ravi Shastri said that he didn’t hope Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to make a comeback to cricket after going through a horrific accident in 2022. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
