When was the last time Rishabh Pant played an ODI before IND vs SL 2024 series?
Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made a sensational return to cricket after his long layoff with injury. The 26-year-old suffered multiple injuries after being involved in a horrific car accident in December 2022.
Pant returned to competitive cricket after recovery in the 2024 IPL and played a key role in India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. However, with India playing their first ODI games this year in the ongoing Sri Lankan series, curiosity rose among fans as to when Pant last played a 50-over encounter for India.
One has to go back to November 30, 2022, when India toured New Zealand for 3 T20Is and as many ODIs for that. With India trailing the rain-affected three-match ODI series 0-1 entering the final outing, Pant played as their wicket-keeper.
He scored only 10 off 16 deliveries before being dismissed by part-time pacer Daryl Mitchell. The Men in Blue finished with a sub-par total of 219 in their batting essay and New Zealand were coasting at 104/1 in 18 overs when rain intervened. It led to the game being called off and the Black Caps winning the series 1-0.
Pant never played an ODI for India after that game due to his injury, which also saw him miss the World Cup last year.
Rishabh Pant is back in the playing XI for the 3rd India-Sri Lanka ODI
After over 20 months, Rishabh Pant is back in India's ODI playing XI for the ongoing clash against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The southpaw missed the first two ODIs, with the first game ending in a tie and a Sri Lankan winning the second fixture to take a 1-0 lead. For the series finale, India decided to replace KL Rahul with Pant as the keeper, adding a left-handed batting option in the middle order to counter the Sri Lankan spinners.
Overall, Pant boasts a moderate ODI record with 865 runs at an average of 34.60 and a strike rate of 106.65 in 30 matches.
As things stand in Pant's ODI return clash, Sri Lanka have gotten off to an excellent start at 88/0 in 19 overs. Should they win the ongoing contest, it will be their first bilateral ODI series win against India since 1997.