New Delhi. Star cricketer Rishabh Pant is ready to return to Test cricket after a long gap. Pant will play his first Test match after almost two years. He gave a glimpse of his old game during net practice on Wednesday. Pant last played a Test match on 25 December 2022. Four days after this match, Rishabh Pant was badly injured in a car accident.
It is hard to believe that 632 days have passed since Pant played his last Test match. Coincidentally, he played his last Test match against Bangladesh in 2022.
Pant is now ready to make a comeback against the same team on Thursday at MA Chidambaram Stadium. Meanwhile, there has not been much change in the cricket scenario of the team, but some strong contenders for a place in the team have emerged.
Dhruv Jurel impressed with his wicketkeeping and batting in the series against England earlier this year. If the team management had decided to play Jurel for this match, no one could have blamed the team but head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke about the importance of Pant.
Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference, “We all know how destructive he can be (as a batsman) and what he can do in Test cricket. He has scored runs everywhere around the world.” He said, “It is always good to have a player like him who can pave the way for us to win the match and most importantly, he can also make a lot of impact.”
Pant returned to international cricket in the white-ball format and was also part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup, but the longer format poses a different challenge to skill and concentration.
Pant recently gave a glimpse of his readiness for red ball cricket while playing for India B in the Duleep Trophy match in Bengaluru. After scoring seven runs off 10 balls in the first innings against India A, Pant showed his potential by scoring 61 runs off 47 balls with nine fours and two sixes in the second innings. Pant also took a total of seven catches in that match, including five in the second innings. Jurel played for India A during this time but it was clear that all eyes would be on Pant in this match.
Tags: India vs Bangladesh, Rishabh Pant
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 18, 2024, 17:50 IST