Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has advised Rishabh Pant to not rush his comeback ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 edition, which gets underway on March 22.
Pant has worked hard on regaining full fitness after a horrific car crash in Dec 2022. Since then, he has been away from action and will mark his return to competitive cricket during the forthcoming season.
DC franchise has already announced that the swashbuckling left-hander will return as the captain but won’t keep wickets during the first half at least.
‘Pant shouldn’t rush the process’
Ahead of Pant’s much-awaited return, Uthappa told in an interview with InsideSport, “Well as far as Rishabh Pant is concerned, it all depends on his fitness and how he recovers from what has been a tough year and a half for him. I think, we should send all those energies to him that he recovers and comes back to his best. It’s good to see He’s back in the nets, he’s hitting the ball well, doing centre wicketkeeping practice. He shouldn’t rush the process.”
Uthappa, who won the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in 2021, further warned Pant against hurrying into action. He stated that there is a high chance the keeper-batter might aggravate his injury in the near future if he tries to overdo and force his way into cricket.
“It’s hard to stay out of the game for so long, especially when you are super competitive and you want to perform and win matches. But sometimes when you hurry the process you end up doing more damage and go back to the wait line which is more frustrating. I really hope he takes his time to comeback and when he does he comes out good,” Uthappa added.
Pant-led DC open their campaign versus Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 23 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali.