Rishabh Pant is recovering at a faster pace but his future as a wicket-keeper is still in jeopardy. Southpaw has undergone several surgeries after suffering a fatal car crash in December 2022. However, in his absence, Delhi Capitals finished in the second-last position. Though Warner has fulfilled the role of a captain very well still Delhi couldn’t qualify for the playoffs due to back-to-back defeats in the league stage. But there comes good news for Delhi Capitals as there are chances that Rishabh would soon return back to action looking at his pace of recovery. But his career as a wicket-keeper is still in danger as there are doubts that he couldn’t bear the burden of wicket-keeping immediately after recovering fully.
“Rishabh’s progress is remarkable. But at this stage, it’s very difficult to say whether he will resume keeping straightaway. It may take 3 months once he returns to practice or may take more than 6 months. We are not sure. We all have to take this slowly. Rishabh is young and has a lot of time to play cricket. But with the kind of injury he has had, he cannot be rushed,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.
Rishabh Pant would return to batting probably by January 2024
David Warner has perfectly fulfilled the role of a captain & batter for Delhi Capitals but still wicket-keeping is an issue for Delhi Capitals. In order to fulfill the void left by Rishabh Pant’s absence, Delhi Capitals has roped in the services of Abhishek Porel. Sarfaraz Khan was tried for the role but he couldn’t keep up team’s expectations. They settled with Phil Salt but that severely affected their overseas combination.
Rishabh Pant as a middle-order batter & wicket-keeper is a perfect option for Delhi Capitals. But in his absence Delhi Capitals need to fill the void in the wicket-keeping department. Ricky Ponting could include more options in wicket-keeping by including overseas players. Pant would probably return in January for batting but wicket-keeping would be their major concern which they need to show as early as possible.
In the IPL 2024 auctions, there are chances of Delhi Capitals signing players for wicket-keeping with uncertainty over Pant’s availability for the wicket-keeper’s role. The franchise is keen on making major amendments & come back stronger in the upcoming edition of the league.
Also read, Ganguly Wants India To Consider Chahal For ODI World Cup
