Rishabh Pant comeback before T20 World Cup and IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said Rishabh Pant is confident of making a full return to competitive cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) just months ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Rishabh Pant, a key player of the Indian team, missed international and domestic cricket after being injured in a horrific car accident in December 2022.
He missed major international events for India including the ICC World Test Championship final and ICC men’s cricket. World Cup in 2023. After a tough road to recovery, Pant was confident of being fully fit and playing a major role in the upcoming season of IPL.
The T20 competition will be the last tour for India’s international players before the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States.
Speaking in Melbourne after unveiling his appointment as the coach of Washington Freedom (a Major League Cricket franchise), Ponting – the coach of Delhi Capitals, the team captained by Pant – spoke about the 26-year-old’s chances in the upcoming edition.
Ponting said, “Rishabh is confident that he will play the right way.” “In what capacity, we are not sure yet. You must have seen all the social media content, he is active and doing good work.”
“But, having said that, we are also only six weeks away from the first game. So we are not sure if we will get wicketkeeping from him this year. I guarantee if I asked him right now he would say, ‘ I’m playing every game, I’m guarding every game and I’m batting at No. 4.”
“He’s exactly the same, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed. He’s obviously our captain. We missed him incredibly last year.” ‘Second phase of life’—Rishabh Pant bares his soul in an interview after the fatal accident.
Ponting said that any contribution from Pant would be a bonus for the Capitals.
“If you understand his journey over the last 12-13 months, it was a horrific incident. I know he feels very lucky to have survived, let alone get the chance to play cricket again.
“We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and hope he’s able to come in there and play. Even if it’s not all the games, if we can manage to get him through 10 out of 14 games or whatever, that’s what you You can also get the game, that will be a bonus.”
A successful appearance in the IPL will be a litmus test for Pant before his eventual comeback into the national team.
The Indian management will be optimistic that the player who has scored 4123 runs and 25 fifty-plus scores in international cricket while playing multiple roles for the team can contribute in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The upcoming showpiece event will take place from June 1 to June 29, with India playing their first match against Ireland on June 5.
T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule
| Date | Match | Group/Stage | Venue |
| June 1, Saturday | USA vs Canada | Group A | Dallas |
| June 2, Sunday | West Indies vs Papua New Guinea | Group C | Guyana |
| June 2, Sunday | Namibia vs Oman | Group B | Barbados |
| June 3, Monday | Sri Lanka vs South Africa | Group D | New York |
| June 3, Monday | Afghanistan vs Uganda | Group C | Guyana |
| June 4, Tuesday | England vs Scotland | Group B | Barbados |
| June 4, Tuesday | Netherlands vs Nepal | Group D | Dallas |
| June 5, Wednesday | India vs Ireland | Group A | New York |
| June 5, Wednesday | Papua New Guinea vs Uganda | Group C | Guyana |
| June 5, Wednesday | Australia vs Oman | Group B | Barbados |
| June 6, Thursday | USA vs Pakistan | Group A | Dallas |
| June 6, Thursday | Namibia vs Scotland | Group B | Barbados |
| June 7, Friday | Canada vs Ireland | Group A | New York |
| June 7, Friday | New Zealand vs Afghanistan | Group C | Guyana |
| June 7, Friday | Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh | Group D | Dallas |
| June 8, Saturday | Netherlands vs South Africa | Group D | New York |
| June 8, Saturday | Australia vs England | Group B | Barbados |
| June 8, Saturday | West Indies vs Uganda | Group C | Guyana |
| June 9, Sunday | India vs Pakistan | Group A | New York |
| June 9, Sunday | Oman vs Scotland | Group B | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 10, Monday | South Africa vs Bangladesh | Group D | New York |
| June 11, Tuesday | Pakistan vs Canada | Group A | New York |
| June 11, Tuesday | Sri Lanka vs Nepal | Group D | Lauderhill |
| June 11, Tuesday | Australia vs Namibia | Group B | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 12, Wednesday | USA vs India | Group A | New York |
| June 12, Wednesday | West Indies vs New Zealand | Group C | Trinidad and Tobago |
| June 13, Thursday | England vs Oman | Group B | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 13, Thursday | Bangladesh vs Netherlands | Group D | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| June 13, Thursday | Afghanistan vs Papua New Guinea | Group C | Trinidad and Tobago |
| June 14, Friday | USA vs Ireland | Group A | Lauderhill |
| June 14, Friday | South Africa vs Nepal | Group D | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| June 14, Friday | New Zealand vs Uganda | Group C | Trinidad and Tobago |
| June 15, Ssturday | India vs Canada | Group A | Lauderhill |
| June 15, Saturday | Namibia vs England | Group B | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 15, Saturday | Australia vs Scotland | Group B | Saint Lucia |
| June 16, Sunday | Pakistan vs Ireland | Group A | Lauderhill |
| June 16, Sunday | Bangladesh vs Nepal | Group D | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| June 16, Sunday | Sri Lanka vs Netherlands | Group D | Saint Lucia |
| June 17, Monday | New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea | Group C | Trinidad and Tobago |
| June 17, Monday | West Indies vs Afghanistan | Group C | Saint Lucia |
| June 19, Wednesday | A2 vs D1 | Group 2 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 19, Wednesday | B1 vs C2 | Group 2 | Saint Lucia |
| June 20, Thursday | C1 vs A1 | Group 1 | Barbados |
| June 20, Thursday | B2 vs D2 | Group 1 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 21, Friday | B1 vs D1 | Group 2 | Saint Lucia |
| June 21, Friday | A2 vs C2 | Group 2 | Barbados |
| June 22, Saturday | A1 vs D2 | Group 1 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 22, Saturday | C1 vs B2 | Group 1 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| June 23, Sunday | A2 vs B1 | Group 2 | Barbados |
| June 23, Sunday | C2 vs D1 | Group 2 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| June 24, Monday | B2 vs A1 | Group 1 | Saint Lucia |
| June 24, Monday | C1 vs D1 | Group 1 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| June 26, Wednesday | TBD | Semi-final 1 | Guyana |
| June 27, Thursday | TBD | Semi-final 2 | Trinidad and Tobago |
| June 29, Saturday | TBD | Final | Barbados |
For more updates, visit the official website: ICC
