Star India cricketer Rishabh Pant has been officially given fitness clearance by the BCCI and after undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, he will make his return to competitive cricket through IPL 2024 which gets underway from March 22.
Pant was involved in a car accident on December 30th, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand which left him severely injured. He underwent surgeries in Mumbai and then began his recovery at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
“Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming IPL 2024,” BCCI said in an official statement on Tuesday.
Pant last played for India in December 2022 during the tour of Bangladesh. After the horrific car accident, he ended up missing a series of high profile tournaments including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home, IPL 2023, ICC World Test Championship Final, Asia Cup 2023 and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Recently, Pant had shared a few clips on social media from his rehab sessions as he continued progress towards attaining full fitness. The 26-year-old will lead Delhi Capitals during the season, replacing David Warner who captained the team in his absence last year.
DC start their IPL 2024 campaign against Punjab Kings in Mohali on March 23.
Meanwhile, fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna have been ruled out of the season.
Shami, last month, underwent surgery for his right heel problem. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI medical team. Shami, who represents Gujarat Titans, hasn’t played competitive cricket since the final of ODI World Cup last year.
On the other hand, Krishna, who underwent surgery on his left proximal quadriceps tendon last month, is also being monitored by the BCCI medical team and will resume rehab at the National Cricket Academy soon.
Krishna last played for Karnataka in a 2024 Ranji Trophy group match against Gujarat during which he picked up the injury. He represents Rajasthan Royals in IPL.
