Pant 2.0, master of the mind-field: On legs of self-confidence, Captain Courageous ready for return

Fourteen months later, he is back on his feet and ready to make a comeback in the IPL. It is more a victory for life than cricket and perhaps the most inspirational since Yuvraj Singh’s return from cancer.

Following his initial treatment at a Dehradun hospital, he was airlifted to Delhi and then shifted to Mumbai’s Centre for Sports Medicine at the Kokilaben Hospital. Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, who performed the knee surgery on Pant, had said his recovery would be “a long-drawn process” and could stretch to two years.

“Rishabh’s mother was concerned about whether he will ever be able to walk again. I told her, ‘Look, I can at least promise you that we’ll make sure that he walks again'” Pardiwala recalled on bcci.tv.

Pant’s resilience and commitment along with the work put in by the physios at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore has made his comeback possible ahead of their initial target.

“The mental strength and confidence inside him made us give our 100 per cent in doing the rehab part for him… Once he came to NCA, it was like a progressive phase for him,” physio Thulasi Yuvraj said in the video posted by the BCCI.

Pant’s drive to return to action made his comeback possible much earlier than anticipated. But will he be able to take the workload of leading Delhi Capitals, batting and also keeping wickets?

He will face challenges having not played competitive cricket for long and how his knees respond to the wear and tear will also have to be taken into consideration. The BCCI had set to rest all speculation saying he would play the IPL as a wicketkeeper-batter.

Last month, Pant began simulation exercises in Bangalore, when he played a 20-over exhibition match in Alur under the supervision of
the Board’s trainers and physios. He was learnt to have shown no discomfort then and his endurance levels were satisfactory.

An optimistic Board secretary didn’t rule out his participation in the T20 World Cup in June. But not all have been so positive. Sunil Gavaskar remains cautious.

“It’ll be very difficult. But the good thing is he has played some cricket. So he has got some practice. To get fluency in batting is a little tough,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“Wicketkeeping is difficult as well, but even in batting, the knee is quite important. So, maybe in the beginning, we won’t see the real Rishabh Pant that we are used to,” the former captain said.

Delhi Capitals open their campaign against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on Saturday and are having their conditioning camp in Visakhapatnam. Doubts still persist on how his knee will cope with the load factor.

Every moment has been a high point in Pant’s career since that horrific accident – walking without crutches, jogging, batting and keeping. Being cautious would be prudent in the circumstances but Pant’s motivational journey will remain a high point in this IPL.