Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar said that Rishabh Pant would face challenges in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Sunil Gavaskar stated that Rishabh Pant will find it difficult to regain batting fluency, especially considering the impact of a knee injury.
Rishabh Pant has been sidelined from competitive cricket since December 2022 due to a severe car accident. Pant endured torn ligaments in his right knee, necessitating surgery. Following a lengthy and challenging recovery process, he is set to return to the IPL in 2024.
The 26-year-old cricketer will be leading the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the upcoming season of the prestigious tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently cleared the DC skipper fit to play as a wicketkeeper-batter following his 15-month layoff.
Rishabh Pant Has Got Some Practice – Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar discussed the potential impact of Rishabh Pant‘s knee injury on his batting and wicketkeeping skills. Gavaskar praised Pant’s entertaining style of wicketkeeping, noting its potential advantage for his team in the IPL.
“It’ll be very difficult. But the good thing is he (Pant) has played some cricket. So he has got some practice. To get fluency in batting is a little tough. When you talk of a knee injury, the pivoting that takes place. Wicketkeeping is difficult as well, but even in batting, the knee is quite important. So, maybe, in the beginning, we won’t see the real Rishabh Pant that we are used to,” said Gavaskar.
“To find a wicketkeeper like him who comments from behind the stumps, that’s full-on entertainment because there are a lot of wicket-keepers who would like to disturb your concentration by saying different things…but Rishabh Pant has the ability to say such a thing that whoever he is targetting, they also laugh, they also enjoy it. But when enjoying it, their concentration goes down a bit, right? The advantage is for his team then.”
Rishabh Pant’s last competitive cricket match was during India’s tour of Bangladesh at the end of 2022. His absence during the IPL 2023 had a significant impact, as the Capitals finished second to bottom in the points table with only five wins in 14 league-stage games.
He Has Shubh-Man Gill In His Name – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar emphasized the importance of Shubman Gill managing captaincy alongside his batting performance with the Gujarat Titans (GT). He also playfully drew comparisons between himself and Gill.
“That is going to be the most important thing: the way he can handle the captaincy. Will it affect and impact his batting? And the second thing is there is a commonality in our initials; both of us are SGs, and if we go even further, my initials are SMG, and he has Shubh-Man Gill in his name,” said Gavaskar.
The 24-year-old opener emerged as the tournament’s top run scorer in the IPL 2023 season. The right-handed batter scored 890 runs in 17 games at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80. He hit three centuries and four half-centuries in the previous season.
Despite Gill’s efforts, the Gujarat Titans failed to clinch the title as they suffered a loss to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final match. He was named GT captain following Hardik Pandya’s trade to the Mumbai Indians (MI) before last year’s auction.
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