Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is close to a return to cricketing action having been out of it for nearly a year since his nasty car accident last December. Pant stayed out of the field for the entirety of 2023 including World Cup 2023 and now his return date is set to be the next year's IPL. Pant was expected to be fit for the home Tests against England but his return has been delayed by a month or so and as per reports, he will be raring to go by February end.
As per a Cricbuzz report, Pant will return to lead Delhi Capitals in the 2024 edition. The report stated that Pant may still not be 100 per cent as far as keeping is concerned but he may still be fit to be on the field and bat and hence might play as an impact player but is likely to lead the Capitals outfit in the next season.
"If he is not keeping, he will definitely be on the field and will lead the side," a franchise official was quoted as saying in the report.
Pant's presence will also boost Delhi Capitals' chances, who found themselves languishing in the bottom two spots for most of the season. But if Pant doesn't keep wickets, the Capitals might be on the lookout for a couple of wicketkeepers, one Indian and an overseas one. Pant's return though will be highly beneficial in the middle order as the Capitals struggled with their batting finding themselves three down very frequently.
Pant was retained by the Delhi team in the top bracket at INR 16 crore and is going to be a mainstay for the side for the years to come after they parted ways with Shreyas Iyer, who is now the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders.
