Rishabh Pant remains on course for a much-anticipated comeback in the IPL after taking part in a practice game organised by his franchise Delhi Capitals in Alur, Karnataka.
Pant, who met with a horrific car accident in December 2022, has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and is working hard to regain match fitness before the start of the IPL in the second half of March.
The southpaw had also featured in an exhibition game last year.
“The match was part of assessing his mobility basically. He has been batting at nets for a while and playing in a practice game was more like an extension of it,” said a NCA source referring to the intra-squad game in Alur near Bengaluru.
Earlier this month, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting had given a major update on Pant, saying the game changing cricketer was confident about his return in the IPL.
However, Pant may not be ready for wicketkeeping duties in the competition, as suggested by Ponting at an event in Melbourne.
“Rishabh is very confident that he’s going to be right to play. In what capacity we’re not quite sure yet,” Ponting had said.
“You would have seen all the social-media stuff, he’s up and about and running well. But in saying that we’re only six weeks away from the first game as well. So we’re not sure if we’ll get wicketkeeping out of him this year.
“But I’ll guarantee if I asked him now he’ll say, ‘I’m playing every game, I’m keeping every game and I’m batting at No.4.’ That’s just what he’s like, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed,” he added.