Rishabh Pant’s return to playing cricket is still uncertain, and he is yet to regain full fitness. Notably, Pant suffered a serious car accident last year and has been away from the field ever since.
Although the wicketkeeper-batter has shown decent progress as he recently attended a match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and was seen walking with crutches, a report by Cricbuzz suggests that Pant may miss both the Asia Cup in September and the ODI World Cup in India between October and November this year.
The report also indicates that there is a possibility that Pant may require a second surgery. It further claims that sources close to Pant have suggested that it might take the cricketer a couple of weeks to walk without assistance.
It is noteworthy that Pant underwent surgery for ligament tears in January and is currently being monitored by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, head of the Centre for Sports Medicine and director of Arthroscopy & Shoulder Service at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai.
Talking about Pant’s replacement, KS Bharat has taken on the wicketkeeping responsibilities in the Test format of the game for India in the Uttarakhand cricketer’s absence. At the same time, KL Rahul was seen keeping wickets in the One Day International (ODI) series against Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also included Bharat in India’s World Test Championship Final squad, which was announced recently. He is the only specialist wicketkeeper named in the squad.
However, Pant’s recovery still remains the topmost priority of BCCI as they previously stated that they would make every effort to aid and expedite the recovery process of Pant and provide him with all the support he needs during this period.
