'Jittery, nervous' Pant raring to go

"ALL of the above... Jittery, nervous, excited...all of it."

- GOMESH S

That is what Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant said when asked how he felt ahead of his team's opening game against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur on Saturday. The reason is obvious. Almost after a year-and-a-half since a life-threatening car accident, Pant will be making a comeback to competitive cricket. Understandably, he was just “happy, being able to come back to professional cricket."

At the time of the accident in the wee hours of December 2022 morning in Dehradun, playing cricket for Pant was not even a discussion. Surviving the crash was the first objective. He was shifted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where he underwent a surgery on the right knee. The biggest concern then was whether he would be able to walk as a normal human being. Pant, being the fighter that he is, endured it all.