Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar opined on Rishabh Pant’s much-awaited comeback during the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 edition, which kicks off on March 22. Pant will return to competitive cricket after his horrific car crash in December 2022. Gavaskar feels Pant should only be reinstated as the Delhi Capitals (DC) captain if he is fully fit.
Let’s not rush him into doing something that there will be a setback’
Talking to Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “He certainly has the ability to think on his feet. If he gets back to full fitness, the reins of (Delhi Capitals) captaincy should be handed over to him. Let’s stay hopeful. This season is the first of him coming back to full fitness.
Let’s not rush him into doing something that there will be a setback. Knee plays a pivotal role in batting as well as keeping — which, of course, he may not do initially. Maybe he won’t be the usual Rishabh Pant that we are used to seeing.”
He added, “I’m also a big fan of him. For me the most important thing, is he should be healthy like before, so that he can come and entertain us. It will be very difficult for him and it will take some time for him to get that batting fluency. But good that he has started training.”
DC’s co-owner Parth Jindal recently revealed that Pant will lead the DC franchise in the upcoming season, however, he won’t keep wickets during the first-half of the season.
It will be interesting to see how Pant is used by the DC franchise at the start of the season. Given he is returning to competitive cricket after a long break, and a major accident, the team management will be eager to take it slowly with him and monitor his workload smartly.