Indian wicketkeeper-batter and Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant is set to make his comeback to competitive cricket with the 2024 edition of the IPL after a gap of 14 months. After multiple operations, recovery and a long rehab, Pant is finally back playing cricket after his life-threatening car accident in December 2022. Pant will be captaining the Delhi Capitals and even keep the wickets, however, former DC batter and Australian superstar Steve Smith has urged everyone to manage their expectations.
Speaking on Star Sports, Smith said that Pant is coming off a long lay off and hitting off straight away in a competition like IPL won't be easy and hence urged everyone to be lenient in judging his performances, especially in the first few games.
"He is an absolute superstar. It's not like he has come back after a two-month break like Virat, he is back after close to 18 months... He has not been able to hit the ball in that time, and he's coming back to one of the biggest tournaments in the world with top players. We need to manage our expectations, and hopefully, he hits the ground running, but we need to be careful there as well," Smith said.
In his first innings back, Pant scored a 13-ball 18 including a couple of fours as Delhi Capitals after a good start gave up all the advantage by losing wickets in heaps, as their last year's problem continued in the 2024 edition as well. Pant's wicket came amid a mini-collapse as the Capitals lost five wickets for 44 runs.
Harshal Patel in his first outing for the Punjab Kings was on the money taking big wickets of David Warner and Pant while stemming the run-flow as the likes of Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Axar Patel and Sumit Kumar all of them couldn't resist for long.
