Rishabh Pant is aiming to make a comeback to cricket after missing the action for almost one and a half years. The world already knows why he was not playing. The car accident gave him many injuries and Pant is still on the path to come back to full match fitness. He captains Delhi Capitals (DC) in Indian Premier League (IPL) and the franchise have renamed him as the captain for the upcoming season after David Warner led in 2023. Pant’s body was damaged but he his mental strength helped him recover speedily from it.
The cricketer feels he is lucky to have survived that brutal car crash that saw his vehicle flip many a times before it was burnt into ashes. But he has moved on from that terrible night and is focusing on the good and positives.
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Rishabh was recently seen in IPL 2024 auction in December last year in Dubai. It was the first time that Pant was sitting at an auction table and raised the paddle a few times as well. He continued to stay in Dubai and also parted with MS Dhoni to celebrate the new year 2024. He came back to India in first week of January and since then has been focusing on his rehab at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru (NCA).
I made my Indian cricket team debut on February 1st, 2017, and I had the privilege of representing my country at the highest level of the sport. A very proud moment and I always get goosebumps thinking about that day!
Resilience was rediscovered by constant reminders to_ pic.twitter.com/dk62g2eoBo — Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) January 31, 2024
In his interview with Star Sports for the ‘Believe’ series Pant opened up about his deep connection with former captain MS Dhoni. He put light on the freewheeling communication and the valuable learning experiences he has had with him.
“I always find it difficult to explain my relationship with MS Dhoni. There are some with whom you can talk freely. I discuss everything with MSD. I have learned so much from him. I discuss things with him that I wouldn’t discuss with. anybody else. That’s the kind of relationship with him,” said Pant.
Rishabh Pant also reflected on his early days in the Indian cricket team, highlighting the supportive and welcoming nature of senior players like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, which contributed to his comfort and integration into the team. “In the start, I was very young, and there were a lot of senior players, a lot of them actually. Yuvraj Singh, MS. Dhoni were there, all seniors. It does take some time, but I didn’t get the feeling of them being super seniors. They were very welcoming and made me very comfortable. They make every new player very comfortable. This is the culture of the Indian team.”
In IPL 2024, he will be up against Dhoni again. Dhoni has started training for another IPL. He is 42 years old but is still going on in IPL. In the match between DC and CSK, Pant and Dhoni should be there at the toss. It will be fascinating to see this battle between a guru and his idol all over again.
