Why Indian cricket and Delhi Capitals missed Rishabh Pant

Cricket has missed Rishabh Pant, his impish cheekiness and electric presence. He is an entertainer, but he is also a crowd-puller and a match-winner. (Image source: X/@DelhiCapitals)

“I had taken an SUV, but what I was seeing was a sedan.”

In his first interview since his horrendous road accident in December 2022, aired some two months back, this was one of the many gems that trickled out of Rishabh Pant’s mouth as he reflected on his brush with the afterlife. At various stages during the 45-minute interaction, he was emotional, but the overwhelming theme was positivity and ebullience. He had initially stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale. He had then entertained fears of his right leg being amputated; thankfully, they remained unfounded. If Pant feels he is the luckiest person in the world, it isn’t without justification.

Pant’s doctors had given him 16 to 18 months to make a full recovery. Less than 15 months since that fateful night, the 26-year-old is primed to return to competitive cricket, for his franchise Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 on March 23 (Saturday).

Rishabh Pant's IPL record with the Delhi Capitals

Cricket has missed Rishabh Pant, his impish cheekiness and electric presence. He is an entertainer, but he is also a crowd-puller and a match-winner. India’s strength in depth has allowed them to fill the breach caused by the absence of Pant the wicketkeeper-batter, but it goes without saying that they haven’t found a replacement for the package that only he can be.

Delhi Capitals are one of only three of the eight original franchises not to have won the IPL crown. For 16 seasons, they have tilted at the windmills, like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings (originally Kings XI Punjab), first as Daredevils and now as Capitals, but the final push has remained elusive. They have had access to some of the best players and brains in the business, but while they have had their moments, they haven’t been able to lay their hands on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Perhaps, their luck will change now that their talisman is back.

Pant is explosive in front of the stumps and efficient behind it, but it is the energy he brings to the team, any team, that is irreplaceable. It’s the kind of energy that sweeps through the ranks like a welcome infection, if there is any such thing. His presence lifts those around him and for the most part, he plays his cricket with a big smile, his enjoyment of the contest and the occasion impossible to miss.

Given his penchant for the unconventional, he ought to have been a natural fit when it came to T20 cricket, but like his illustrious Delhi mate Virender Sehwag, Pant has had better returns in red-ball cricket than in its white-ball variants. Maybe like Sehwag, he is culpable of trying too hard; in his defence, while Sehwag had the full 20 overs at his disposal in his role as opener, Pant hasn’t enjoyed the same luxury, given that he bats in the middle order and often walks in in the second half of the innings. Even so, he will be the first to admit that his 20-over career graph isn’t quite what it ought to have been, especially at the international level.

This extended if unwelcome break away from the game will have given him the opportunity to introspect and work out what he needs to do going forward to correct that anomaly. His overall T20 record is more than acceptable, especially given that he has a second, equally strong, suit as wicketkeeper – in 179 games, he has more than 4,500 runs at an average of 31.32, a strike-rate of 144.84 and an unbeaten 128 as the higher of his two centuries. For India, those numbers drop to 987 runs, average 22.43, strike-rate 126.37, highest 65 not out, in 66 matches. Truth be told, these are journeymen numbers, not befitting one of Pant’s stature and capabilities. But time is on his side. After all, even though he first played for the country seven years back, he is still only 26.

What can one expect from Rishabh Pant at IPL 2024?

Effort, without a doubt, and total commitment. These are traits he unfailingly embraced while on the comeback trail. Toughing it out during the lengthy rehabilitation period, he has taken almost everyone by surprise by the rapidity with which he has regained full fitness. That he has been cleared to play in the IPL as a wicketkeeper-batter must have been beyond the realistic expectations of his franchise, though knowing Pant, they perhaps ought to have known better.

Will Rishabh Pant be an instant success upon return?

That is harder to affirm with any authority. To Pant, this will feel like his senior debut all over again. He hasn’t played a serious game of cricket since Christmas 2022, and no matter how hard one might train in the nets, it simply can’t replicate the tension and the stresses and the pressures of an actual match situation. Pant must be given time and space to rediscover himself – it won’t be out of place for Pant too to give himself that licence – because while he might be the miracle man, miracles don’t necessarily eventuate on the cricket field on demand.

Of the millions who will be watching Pant’s return with great interest will be the principal decision-makers in Indian cricket currently – captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The T20 World Cup is two and a half months away and while India have unearthed capable substitutes for Pant across formats, everyone knows that there can’t be another Pant. If the young man shows reasonable batting form and total and complete fitness, the temptation to include him in the squad for the mega event will be immense, especially considering that India have not won a global title for nearly 11 years now.

In head coach Ricky Ponting, director of cricket Sourav Ganguly and senior pro David Warner, Pant has a wise, empathetic and supportive core group at his franchise who will give him the freedom to express himself while making sure that he doesn’t overstretch and exert himself too much too soon. Pant is far too precious to risk a punt on. The World Cup is a big deal, undoubtedly, but there are other battles to fight, wars to win. Pant knows all about that, so expect him to don the cloak of equanimity. And target some serious damage of his own.