Rishabh Pant Says He’s “Coming To Play” Ahead Of IPL 2023. There’s A Twist

A horrific accident in December, 2022, has forced Rishabh Pant out of action for quite sometime now. In the early hours of December 30, 2022, Pant, 25, miraculously survived after his Mercedes car collided with a divider and caught fire on the Delhi-Dehradun highway while he was on the way to his hometown Roorkee. The star India wicketkeeper-batter has started his rehab process, and recently shared videos of him walking again. His absence means that Delhi Capitals will be missing a very impactful player when they begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign against the KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.

In a promotional video, which has been doing the rounds on social media, Pant on Wednesday said “if everyone is playing, why not me? I am still in the game boss! I am coming to play”. It’s an advertisement for a food delivery app, but it got the internet buzzing.

“Cricket and food. Two things I can’t live without. I haven’t been able to play cricket in the last few months. But the doctor did tell me to eat properly. So I had lots of healthy food at home…the cricket season was starting soon. That’s when I felt that if everyone is playing, why not me? I am still in the game boss! I am coming to play,” Pant said in a video.

Rishabh Pant is back! pic.twitter.com/3uu51Nz0AO

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 29, 2023

Delhi Capitals are likely to sign Bengal’s Abishek Porel as a replacement for the injured wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, according to a report in the ESPNcricinfo. The signing of Porel, which has not yet been formally confirmed, follows a number of training matches at a week-long training camp in New Delhi.

In addition to being observed by the Capitals coaching staff, which is led by director of cricket Sourav Ganguly and head coach Ricky Ponting, Porel and three other uncapped wicketkeepers, Sheldon Jackson, Luvnith Sisodia, and Vivek Singh, have been put through a series of match simulation drills over the past week.