India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s return to the cricket field is expected to take longer than anticipated after a near-fatal car accident on New Year’s Eve left him with ligament tears that required surgery. Consequently, “Will Rishabh Pant play 2023 World Cup?” has become the hottest talk of the town.
The cricketer was recently seen using crutches during Delhi Capitals’ Indian Premier League games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, and it is expected to take a couple of weeks for him to walk without any support.
Rishabh Pant Still 7-8 Months Away From Return; Ruled Out of 2023 World Cup: Report
India are set to be without Rishabh Pant at the 2023 Cricket World Cup as the star wicketkeeper continues to recover following multiple injuries he suffered during a horror car crash late last year. Pant will also miss the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Asia Cup, having already missed this year’s Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
A report by Cricbuzz states that Pant is still seven-eight months away from being enough to play cricket again, and a return in January will mean a whole year will have crossed since the ill-fated day would be seen as a very fast recovery.
“The general impression is that he is recovering faster than anticipated, but it will take seven to eight months to be cricket-fit. That said it could take even longer for him to do the wicketkeeping and the initial comeback period will have to be solely as a batter, which is still considered an asset,” the Cricbuzz report stated.
The 25-year-old Pant has a strike-rate of over 106 in ODI cricket with 865 runs in 30 matches including 1 century and 5 fifties. In 33 Tests, Pant has scored 2,271 runs at an average of 43.67 with 5 hundreds and 11 fifties. Hence, his absence from the upcoming ODI World Cup has come as something short of a misery.
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