Stuart Broad ignores Australian rivals as he names Rishabh Pant as 'most fearless batter'

The day is finally here when wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant will be making his return to competitive cricket for the first time since enduring the tragic car accident in December 2022. His Delhi Capitals will be relied upon him for captaincy, his wicket-keeping, and of course, his flamboyant batting. On that note, former England pacer Stuart Broad who is doing commentary duty for IPL 2024, claimed that Pant is the most fearless batter he has ever bowled to.

Stuart Broad is here in India for the first time ever to do commentary for the IPL 2024 edition which began last night with a clash between CSK and RCB. Broad, who is a part of the Star Sports commentary entourage for this season, revealed that during his playing days, Rishabh Pant was the most fearless batsman he bowled to.

Stuart Broad says people shouldn’t be surprised if Rishabh Pant tries to score a boundary on the first ball

The English right-arm pacer who retired after registering 604 Test wickets, claimed that people should not be shocked if Rishabh Pant tries to score a boundary off the very first ball he faces on his return. That’s the kind of Pant we all know about and it will be great to see the 26-year-old stage his return like that.

“Rishabh Pant is the most fearless batter I have played against, don’t be surprised if he tries to hit a boundary in the first ball,” Stuart Broad said via Star Sports. 

It will just be his 3rd full season as the captain of Delhi Capitals and first since 2022. In his first year as the captain in 2021, Rishabh Pant led the Capitals to finish 1st in the points table by 10 games and losing 4 with a total of 20 points under their belt.

Pant had experienced his 3rd most prolific IPL season with the bat, scoring 419 runs at a 34.91 average along with 3 half-centuries. Then in 2022, Pant could score just 340 runs from 14 league matches at a much better strike rate of 151.79 but did not have a single half-century to his name.

So this season, Rishabh Pant will be aiming to not just fight off and try to gain some good form but also make sure that he kills the demons of the 2022 season. It will not be fair to say but Pant needs to ensure that he experiences a season where he can score at least more than 500 runs because he is playing for another objective other than helping DC win the IPL title.

Pant will also be vying for a spot in the Indian national team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. He will be desperate to be an option when the chief selectors sit down to determine the 15-man squad for the T20 WC which will start from June 1 onwards.

Delhi Capitals updated IPL 2024 squad