India’s Rishabh Pant set to resume cricket career at IPL 2024

Pant has been cleared to play competitive cricket for the first time since he sustained multiple injuries in a car crash on December 30, 2022.

India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is fit to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting this month after being seriously hurt in a car crash in 2022, the country’s cricket board has said.

After an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, Pant “has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter” for the Twenty20 tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement posted on X.

The 26-year-old plays for Delhi Capitals in the franchise tournament and is expected to take up wicketkeeping and batting duties when the 2024 season gets under way on March 22.

Delhi Capitals play their opening game against Punjab Kings a day later.

Pant suffered multiple injuries in a car crash near the town of Roorkee in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on December 30, 2022. He suffered injuries on his head, back and leg, but managed to exit the car before it caught fire.

His last cricket outing came during India’s Test match against Bangladesh between December 22 and 25, 2022.

A successful return to cricket may pave the way for his inclusion in India’s squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean and the United States.