Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant started preparing for his red-ball comeback to the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which will kickstart from September 5 onwards. The young wicketkeeper-batter posted a video on Instagram of him practicing his classy drives, lofted hits and reverse sweeps/ramps in the nets. In his Instagram caption, Pant 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 life-threatening road accident in December 2022, Pant made his comeback to competitive cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL), captaining Delhi Capitals. DC finished in the sixth spot with seven wins, seven losses, and 14 points and failed to move to playoffs. He scored 446 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of over 155 with three half-centuries and emerged as the team's top run-getter.
Pant was also a vital member of India's ICC T20 World Cup-winning team. He was the third-highest run-getter for India in their T20 World Cup triumph. He amassed 171 runs at an average of 24.42 in eight matches and also contributed with his skills behind the stumps with 14 dismissals, the most by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 WC edition. His influential performances helped India end their 13-year-long ICC World Cup drought.
With the two-match Bangladesh Test series starting at home from September 19 onwards, all eyes will be on Pant's performance in red-ball cricket during the Duleep Trophy, where he will be playing for India B. Pant is one of India's key red-ball batters, having put on various match-turning performances, be it in wins or loss.
In 33 Tests since 2018, he has scored 2,271 runs at an average of 43.67, with a strike rate of over 73. In 56 innings, he has scored five centuries and 11 fifties, with his best score being 159*.
In particular, fans would be excited to see him play in Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia from November 22 onwards. Pant has a fine record in Australia, scoring 624 runs in seven matches and 12 innings on Australian soil at an average of over 62, with a century and two half-centuries. His best score is 159*.
Squads For Duleep Trophy first round:
India A: 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.
India B: 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).
India C: 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.
India D: 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.
