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India’s star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to make his comeback in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, more than 14 months after surviving a horrific car accident. Pant on February 20 played an intra-squad game in Alur, near Bengaluru, his first game since the accident. Later in the evening, Pant posted a video where he is doing wicketkeeping drills and batting in the nets as well.
The video went viral within a few minutes of Pant posting it on his Instagram –
“It was an intra-squad game that included local players as well arranged by DC. It is part of an ongoing process to assess Pant's fitness as NCA and DC support staff are monitoring his progress. The aim was to see if his mobility had increased. He has been batting in the nets and the match was an extension of it,” a source told Sports Tak.
Ponting is optimistic but doesn’t expect Pant to play all matches
Meanwhile, DC head coach Ricky Ponting had said that Pant is unlikely to return to the wicketkeeping role. He expects Pant to play about 10 out of 14 league games to prevent any risk of him getting injured. If the 26-year-old does not play all the matches, David Warner, who led DC in the previous season, will continue as captain in this edition as well.
"He's such a dynamic player. He's obviously our captain. We missed him incredibly last year. If you understand the journey he's been on the last 12-13 months, it was a horrific incident. One that I know he feels very lucky to have even survived, let alone have the chance to play cricket again.
"We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope that he can be out there and play. Even if it's not all the games, if we can manage him through 10 of the 14 games or whatever that might be then whatever games you can get out of him will be a bonus," Ponting said.
Delhi Capitals’ poor run in IPL 2024
In the previous season, DC finished ninth on the points table with nine losses from 14 games and a slightly better net run rate (NRR) than Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
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