When was the last time Rishabh Pant played a Test for India?
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is returning to Test cricket with the first of two Tests against Bangladesh at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, September 19. Pant had played his last Test against the same side in Mirpur from December 22-25, 2022. He is making his Test comeback after a long gap of 631 days.
Notably, Pant made his comeback to competitive cricket with the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year. The southpaw was also part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team. He missed more than one year of action after suffering multiple injuries in a car accident in December 2022.
Pant recently played a red-ball game for India B against India A in the Duleep Trophy. The left-handed batter registered scores of 7 and 61 in his two innings. He also took seven catches, including five in the second innings. His team won the game by 76 runs.
The 26-year-old has had an impactful run in his short Test career. He has amassed 2,271 runs in 33 Tests at an average of 43.67, including five tons and 11 half-centuries. He has two tons in England and one each in Australia, South Africa, and India.
Pant gained popularity in Test cricket following his heroics during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His match-winning knock helped India seal the Test series 2-1 at the Gabba in Brisbane. He continued his sublime touch during the Test series in England in 2022.
With 10 Tests scheduled in the packed calendar year, Rishabh Pant remains critical to India’s chances of qualifying for their third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“It’s a huge plus for India” – Sanjay Manjrekar on Rishabh Pant’s return to Test cricket
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Rishabh Pant’s return to Test cricket would make the team stronger ahead of the Test season involving Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia. The cricketer-turned-commentator recently told ESPNCricinfo:
“Huge, before that accident Rishabh Pant had three years at the Test level where he clearly showed no matter where the Test was played that he was India’s number 1 Test batter by far, and that saying a lot considering other players in the team. So, that is the kind of impact that he had and it seems like that’s the format that he is making more of an impression in."
"So, it’s a huge plus for India, just makes the Indian team even more strong. I think he’ll find it easier getting back into the Test groove rather than maybe T20s and ODIs,” Manjrekar added.
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