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'Not sure Rishabh Pant will be able to keep wicket': Legendary wicketkeeper issues worrying signs
The legendary wicketkeeper opined that a fit-again Rishabh Pant can be a match-winner for India with the bat.
Rishabh Pant feared amputation of his right leg after the star cricketer was involved in a horrific car crash. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter was driving from Delhi to Roorkee to meet his family after India toured Bangladesh back in 2022. The Indian southpaw was instrumental in India's win over Bangladesh in the 2nd Test at the time. Pant played a stroke-filled knock of 93 off 105 balls in the Dhaka Test match.
It has been over a year since Pant last played a competitive game. Pant underwent surgeries to reconstruct all three ligaments in his right knee. The wicketkeeper-batter continued his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. In the absence of Pant, Rahul Dravid-coached Indian side has added a specialist wicketkeeper in the form of KS Bharat. Former vice-captain KL Rahul and opener Ishan Kishan have also taken up the role of India's wicketkeeper across formats.
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'Not sure he’ll be able to keep wicket'
During an interaction after his felicitation at the Bombay Gymkhana, former India cricketer Farokh Engineer urged Bharat to make minor changes as wicketkeeper. The former India wicketkeeper hailed Pant as a match-winner for Rohit Sharma's men. However, the ex-wicketkeeper was also not sure about Pant returning to the Indian side as a wicketkeeper.
“(I was) so sad to hear about Rishabh’s accident. I hope that he’s recovered now. I’m not sure (that) he’ll be able to ‘keep wicket, because once you lose your sharpness, the sixth sense... but his batting is so good, he can be a match-winner for India with the bat. He has so much confidence as a batsman. Like me, he thinks that spinners shouldn’t exist,” Engineer was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Pant to return for IPL 2024
Earlier, Pant made a guest appearance at India's training session in the Afghanistan T20I series. After contesting the 2023 World Cup final at home, India will hope to end its ICC trophy drought in this year’s World T20. Injured Indian gloveman Pant is expected to make his return in 2024 with this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL). The Delhi Capitals (DC) superstar was earlier retained by the franchise for the 2024 edition. He also attended the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai as a member of the DC franchise.
