Rishabh Pant is in the 10th year of his international cricket career. He has consistently inspired raging debates over these nine years. Eyeballs yearn for him even when he is not part of the Indian team. Last week, when videos of Pant practising in Mumbai and Chennai surfaced, he hogged the feed on social media, barely days after India became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title. This could be a defining year for Pant, starting with the IPL. He hasn’t been a definite part of India’s white-ball team since winning the T20 World Cup in June 2024. In fact, he played just two T20Is and one ODI after Gautam Gambhir took charge as head coach of the Indian team. He has remained the backup wicketkeeper in the ODI setup. As India start preparing for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, a good IPL could keep him ahead of the likes of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.
Since recovering from the side strain he suffered in the second week of January, he has been travelling across the country to find the best-quality practice sessions. Pant’s preparations go beyond just fighting to win his place in India’s white-ball XI or justifying the tag of being IPL’s most expensive player. That he spent four intense days with Yuvraj Singh in Mumbai may seem as if he is just following in the footsteps of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Unlike Samson, who went to resurrect his technique ahead of the T20 World Cup, Pant approached Yuvraj to clear the cobwebs from his mind. Pant and Yuvraj have shared a strong bond for a number of years. But the bond runs deeper since Pant survived a horrific car accident in December 2022. Both have touched death and come back to take the field for India when few gave them a chance to even lead a normal life. They share a common outlook on life. For Pant, spending time with Yuvraj was more about reassuring himself about his approach than just working on technical aspects of the game. Those who have followed Pant during the time he endlessly warmed the benches with India’s white-ball team will tell you he puts himself through punishing training sessions — both in the nets and off the field. Lucknow Super Giants recently posted a video of 21-year-old batter Mukul Choudhary waiting nearly two hours for Pant to come out of the nets. Soham Desai, India’s former strength and conditioning coach, mentioned how Pant dragged him to the gym whenever he was free, without caring for the workload management programmes during last year’s ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. Former national selector Devang Gandhi, who was part of the committee that fast-tracked Pant, pointed out that Pant has the knack of bouncing back from difficult situations. “He has always been under intense scrutiny. But he has made stirring comebacks. He helped India win the Test series in Australia in 2020-21 after he was asked to warm the bench for most of the tour. He had a cracking IPL after coming back from his accident before making it to India’s T20 World Cup team in 2024. And then he had the stellar Test series in England last year after having a tough series in Australia and a modest IPL. These are indications that Pant is mentally very strong,” Gandhi told TOI. One can expect Pant to bat at No. 3 for LSG this season after enduring a forgettable season last year batting lower down the order. Pant’s decision to bat in the middle order had baffled experts since Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid had used him at No. 3 in the T20 World Cup. “He has to face more balls in an innings. I hope he cuts out the risks that come with playing reverse sweeps and fancy ramps. He has a solid technique and can play pace and bounce better than most in India. That’s what you will be looking for against top-quality fast bowling in South African conditions. Whatever videos I have seen on social media, it looks like he is trusting his basics. Having a mentor like Yuvraj will obviously help him,” Gandhi reckoned. Pant has had the time off to work on his cricket and is fresh for the IPL, which is a luxury for an India cricketer. The preps are done. It’s up to execution and reclaiming his place in India’s white-ball setup.
