Delhi Capitals assistant coach Pravin Amre still remembers Rishabh Pant’s first day in the team’s pre-season camp in Vizag. Having been away from professional cricket for close to 15 months, the wicketkeeper-batter was in no mood to waste time and went to the ground directly from the airport. The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise was pleasantly surprised but got the early cue of his hunger.
“I remember his first day when he came at the Vizag camp, he went straight to ground from the airport. He was hungry, he made sure that he was going to utilise every day. And you can see all his hard work is paying off,” recalls Amre after Delhi Capitals’ tight win over Gujarat Titans on Wednesday night.
Even after getting the clearance from National Cricket Academy (NCA) to resume cricket as a wicketkeeper-batter, there were doubts in many heads with regards to his wicketkeeping abilities. Will he be the same? Will he be asked to manage his workload? Will the knee be able to take the load of so much cricket?
Nine games later, Pant has put all those doubts to rest and has been very sharp behind the stumps. Not once has he looked in discomfort and has most dismissals – 13 (10 catches and 3 stumps) in nine games – in 2024 edition of the cash-rich league. There have been occasions where he has not shied away from standing up to the quicks like Mukesh Kumar and Rasikh Dar Salam, and glove work has been on point.
“He’s starting to get a bit more trust and belief in his body as well,” DC head coach Ricky Ponting had said in a select media interaction this week. “I think early on he had been a little bit apprehensive as to what he could do, especially with the wicketkeeping side of it. With his batting, coming into the tournament, he had pretty good trust in his abilities,” added Ponting.
Like Ponting, DC Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly has been very impressed with Pant’s return and both feel that the wicketkeeper-batter should be on that flight to USA for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“Yes, I think so, Pant should be part of the World Cup squad. He should bat in the middle order. Where exactly is difficult to say because of match-ups, right-left combinations depending on who bowls. It also depends on the situation,” Ganguly had said on Monday.
Mature, calm…
Pant is still the jovial chatterbox we used to see behind the stumps, but the horrific accident has made him “mature and patient”. He is still doing the “spidey” things with the gloves and the bat but has a lot of maturity in how he goes about things.
DC captain’s good friend and teammate Axar Patel revealed Pant has become very patient and doesn’t “get too angry” now.
“I think he’s more mature and patient now compared to the Rishabh Pant of 1.5 years ago…He speaks with a lot of maturity now. Earlier, he used to come and start by saying ‘Mai ye kardunga, mai vo karunga‘ (I’ll do this, I’ll do that). But now he understands that that’s not how it works so he shows a lot of patience and says ‘Mai time luunga, mai match finish karne ka dekhunga‘.
“Obviously, his natural game and shots are still there. But now I feel he’s more mature, calmer and doesn’t get too angry either about someone or the other doing something wrong,” Axar had said during a select media interaction.
Nine games have shown his skills with both bat and the gloves but it’s the maturity which has stood out. Maturity as a leader, as an individual especially in situations where things haven’t really gone their way. There are flashes of the child-like innocence during the odd net banter with his teammates but it’s safe to say he is not the ‘boy’ from Roorkee anymore.
When Pant was declared fit to play, there weren’t many expectations, just unadulterated joy to see him back and every run he has scored since is a bonus. He may have booked his ticket for the T20 World Cup already but it feels too trivial. The bigger picture always was having him back in the field after that horrific crash and for him to achieve that in around 15 months is nothing short of a miracle.
“The more time I spend in the centre, the better I feel… ”
It’s not just Pant’s feeling but of everyone who has seen his struggles during the rehab, prayed for his comeback and is finding joy in every stride he takes on the cricket field. The runs, catches, stumpings and run-outs are just a bonus!
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