Watch- Rishabh Pant rewinds the clock with his exquisite batting ahead of IPL 2024

Rishabh Pant was seen playing some crispy and exquisite shots during a recent practice match at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru ahead of his much-awaited IPL 2024 return. Fans are eagerly waiting for his return to competitive cricket following his successful 14-month recovery from the horrific car crash he suffered in 2022.

The left-hand batter was on his way to Roorkee from New Delhi to surprise his family with his presence on the occasion of New Year’s. However, as he was driving his car at full speed, Rishabh Pant endured a tragic and scary car accident after he dozed off a bit and by the time he opened his eyes, his car was in flames.

Rishabh Pant’s comeback story as it went

He was pretty lucky to have walked out from the accident with shattered bones of his legs as the first images of his burnt car were nothing less than dreadful. After being admitted to the hospital, Rishabh Pant was announced out of danger with his comeback to the cricket field only possible after a lengthy recovery period.

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The 26-year-old spent an entire year and a half to first get his damaged legs back to normal and then started the rehabilitation process at the NCA. On his way to gaining full fitness, Rishabh Pant missed the entire 2023 cricketing season which included the IPL, the WTC final, the Cricket World Cup, several foreign tours, and home series.

Rishabh Pant’s return to this year’s IPL was also looking bleak at first but the determination and grit he showed to overcome the pain, eventually saw BCCI give him fitness clearance. A few days ago on their latest medical update, BCCI revealed that Pant will be featuring as a wicket-keeper batsman for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. He will also be captaining the Capitals only for the second season and the first time since 2022.

“After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30th, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming TATA IPL 2024.” – the official press release from BCCI read. 

Watch Rishabh Pant get back to basics

Rishabh Pant's Practice Match Shots.@RishabhPant17 He's Backkkkk 👊 pic.twitter.com/sb2Yi7bUK6

— Vijay (@Onehandedsix) March 14, 2024

In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter), which is now going viral, Rishabh Pant can be seen batting with full confidence without any evident pain or injury scare. He can be seen hitting those “Wristy” sixes in the 18-second clip where he also played some of his trademark pick-up shots.

Rishabh Pant started by playing a lofted shot towards the square region then 2 back-to-back hooks (pull shot) and one towards fine leg. The best one came when he just flicked the ball effortlessly toward the leg side, which is also one of his favorite pick-up shots that we are so used to seeing from him. Lastly, Pant would hit one over the covers and was also seen doing a bit of running.

That indicates that Pant is match fit and is ready to make his bat do the talking when Delhi Capitals take an away trip up North for a clash against Punjab Kings on Saturday, March 23rd from 3:30 PM onwards.