‘To recover that quickly and then move the way he did’- Ravi Shastri lauds Rishabh Pant for having successful T20 World Cup

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri lauded Rishabh Pant for having a successful T20 World Cup. The keeper-batter missed competitive cricket for 16 months due to a horrific car crash and made his return in IPL 2024. There were doubts if he’d make it to India’s squad for the T20 World Cup but the 26-year-old surprised everyone in the cash-rich tournament, smashing 446 runs in 13 matches.

Pant batted at number three for India in the T20 World Cup, and played important knocks against Ireland, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Shastri talked about Pant’s incredible recovery process following the accident and added that he must have felt the pressure at some point but was elated to see him deliver for the national team.

Also Read - Jasprit Bumrah just showed the world what it takes: Ravi Shastri

“He did his job with the bat, but it was his keeping that really surprised everyone. For someone to recover that quickly and then move the way he did. He hardly missed anything, albeit he must have felt the pressure as the tournament got on because it's not easy to come back and do all the stuff he did,” Shastri told ICC.

However, Pant is yet to make his return in the ODI format. He is currently a part of the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series but couldn’t make it to the playing XI. The Rohit Sharma-led side backed KL Rahul for the keeping role as he did a phenomenal job for India in the ODI World Cup 2023. He is likely to get an extended run in the team and for Pant to come back, the cricketer needs to wait for someone to flop.

Also Read - Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana lead the pack in inaugural Delhi Premier League draft

In the first ODI against Sri Lanka, the middle order failed to deliver and if the trend continues, Pant will be considered going forward. He can replace Shreyas Iyer in the playing XI and bat at number four, in case the Mumbai-born cricketer fails to make a mark.