It would be 527 days since his life-threatening accident when Rishabh Pant dons the India jersey on June 5 at the Nassau County ground for the opening T20 World Cup match against Ireland and he can’t wait for it.
On March 23 this year, Pant wore the blue of Delhi Capitals while making an emotional comeback after the horrific car crash in 2022 but he is more eager to wear a different shade of blue -- the ‘India Blue’ to be specific.
“Getting back on the field with an Indian jersey on is a different feeling altogether. This is something I missed a lot...Hopefully I (can) make it count and make it better from here,” Pant told BCCI.TV on the sidelines of India’s first net session ahead of the warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 1.
Pant, who underwent an intense 15-month rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy, had teammate Suryakumar Yadav for company during this interaction and recalled the time how his presence helped him cope with the loneliness of his injury management programme in the NCA.
“Seeing the team here and meeting them again, spending time, having fun with them, having a conversation with them, I really enjoyed,” a beaming Pant said.
Having scored 446 runs in 13 IPL games, Pant is slowly getting back into the groove. The leaner and fitter Pant looked in nice touch at the India nets at the Cantiague Park on the outskirts of New York City.
Pant also spoke about the prospects of cricket gaining popularity in the USA going forward. He felt the T20 World Cup could be the start of an eventful chapter.
“We are used to playing in certain countries but this is a different prospect. It has opened up a different channel for sport because I feel cricket is growing around the world and...Getting the exposure here would be nice for cricket as well as USA cricket,” he said.
He spoke about the drop-in pitches that will be used during the tournament and also the bright sunshine that he and the rest of the team is getting used to.
“New pitches are there. I’m just getting used to the conditions. The sun is a little bit brighter here, so just getting used to the conditions over here. Let’s see how it goes,” Pant concluded.
