Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant made his highly anticipated comeback to competitive cricket during Delhi Capitals’ (DC) IPL 2024 campaign opener against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday.
Notably, Pant suffered a horrific car accident near Roorkee in December 2022. He was declared fit by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team last week.
Taking the field as DC captain, Pant walked to the pitch at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.
“Really emotional time for me. Just want to enjoy the moment. Not thinking much. I think not worried about last season. Really exciting times. We have been preparing well,” said Pant after the toss.
Meanwhile, after winning the toss, PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan stated: “We are gonna field first. It is a new pitch. We will look to come up with new strategies.
“We had [played] a practice match. We will look for some luck on this venue,” he added.
Also READ: IPL 2024: Broadcast, live streaming details – When and Where to watch in India, US, UK, Canada & other countries
PBKS vs DC: Playing XI of both the teams
Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ricky Bhui, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Impact substitutes for both the teams
Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Vicky Ostwal, Praveen Dubey
Punjab Kings: Rilee Rossouw, Prabhsimran Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Vidhwath Kaverappa
