The senior India pacer has dropped a massive prediction about Rishabh Pant during the 2nd Test between India and the West Indies.
At a time when Rishabh Pant is keen on staging a swift comeback, a senior India pacer has issued an eye-catching statement about the injured wicketkeeper-batter of the Asian giants. With Rohit Sharma’s Team India missing the services of vice-captain KL Rahul and gloveman Pant in the West Indies series, the Indian think tank handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan his debut India cap in the 1st Test.
Kishan, who made his debut in the red-ball series opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, slammed his maiden half-century in the 2nd Test against the West Indies. Kishan notched up his maiden half-century on Day 4 of the 2nd Test on Sunday. Besides cementing his place in the Test setup, power-hitter Kishan has also emerged as a strong candidate to keep wickets for India in the limited-overs format.
While Kishan and KS Bharat are pitted against each other to replace Pant in the Test squad, the injured gloveman is in danger of missing several marquee events. Pant has already missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and ICC World Test Championship final against Australia. The 25-year-old survived a tragic car accident last year.
Recently, Pant shared an internet-breaking video to provide a major health update during India’s Test series against the West Indies. Talking about Pant’s road to recovery during the 2nd Test between the two teams, senior India pacer Ishant Sharma claimed that the injured gloveman can also miss the 2024 edition of the IPL.
‘We might not see Pant in the next IPL’
“I feel we might not see Rishabh Pant in the next IPL as well because it is not a small injury. It was a very serious accident. He has just started batting and wicketkeeping and to run and turn after that, there are a lot of things, which is not easy for a wicketkeeper and a batter,” Ishant told Jio Cinema.
Ishant, who has played 100 Test matches for India, has ruled out Pant from making a comeback to the Indian side for the 2023 World Cup. Two-time champions India will also battle for Asia Cup glory before hosting the 50-over World Cup later this year. “The good thing is that he didn’t have a second surgery. If he had undergone a second surgery, he would have been out for even longer. He has had one surgery now but I don’t think he will be fit for the World Cup for sure. Hopefully, if he gets fit for the IPL, it will be great,” Ishant added.