After enduring a challenging period recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident, Rishabh Pant is poised to return to the cricket field, with the BCCI recently declaring him fully fit for the upcoming IPL 2024 season with the Delhi Capitals. Pant’s journey to recovery began after a serious car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway last December, resulting in significant knee damage that required surgery and extensive rehabilitation, sidelining him from major tournaments, including the 2023 ODI World Cup.
While Pant has been cleared to play, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar believes it may take some time for him to regain his top form. Gavaskar shared his thoughts with Star Sports, expressing the challenges Pant might face initially. “It’ll be very difficult… To get fluency in batting is a little tough,” he remarked, highlighting the crucial role of the knee in both batting and wicketkeeping.
Sunil Gavaskar emphasized Pant’s unique style, particularly his ability to engage opponents behind the stumps without causing offense.
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“To find a wicket-keeper like him who comments from behind the stumps, that’s full-on entertainment… Rishabh Pant has the ability to say such a thing that whoever he is targeting, they also laugh, they also enjoy it,” Sunil Gavaskar noted, highlighting Pant’s knack for disrupting opponents’ concentration while keeping the mood light-hearted.
Turning his attention to another young talent, Shubman Gill, who will lead the Gujarat Titans for the first time, Gavaskar pondered the impact of captaincy on Gill’s batting performance.
“That is going to be the most important thing: the way he can handle the captaincy. Will it affect and impact his batting?” Sunil Gavaskar questioned, curious about how Gill would balance leadership responsibilities with his batting prowess.
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In his signature witty style, Sunil Gavaskar also drew attention to the initials he shares with Gill, playfully noting the commonality. “And the second thing is there is a commonality in our initials; both of us are SG’s, and if we go even further, my initials are SMG, and he has Shubh-Man Gill in his name,” he quipped, adding a lighthearted touch to the discussion.
As Pant and Gill prepare to embark on their respective journeys in the IPL 2024 season, cricket enthusiasts eagerly await their performances on the field, anticipating the excitement and entertainment they bring to the game.
