The former head coach of the Indian team, Ravi Shastri, has addressed how he was shocked to see the smooth comeback of the wicket-keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, in the longest format after the latter was involved in a horrible car accident in 2022. The Delhi-batter went back in action through the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 before featuring in the following T20 World Cup.
Before his comeback in the red-ball form, Pant was part of the Duleep Trophy in the first round before he celebrated a century in the second innings of the very first game of the home Test season against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
“Honestly, if you had seen him, you would not have given him hope in hell to play cricket again. I will never forget it. He was in terrible shape. I went to see him in hospital a month after he was injured. He was battered and bruised, scarred all over.” Ravi Shastri expressed this during a recent interaction on news.com.au.
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Pant enjoyed the five Tests at home in 2024, while the others were struggling very badly to find good touch with the bat against both the pacers and the spinners. The left-handed batter clubbed 422 runs in ten innings at an average of 46.89 and a strike rate of over 86 with the help of three fifties and one century.
“He had a massive operation and had stitches all over the place. From there simply, recovering and playing cricket was a miracle. To then go on and play in a World Cup-winning team and be part of the Test team is a truly remarkable achievement.” The former Indian spin all-rounder hopes for a powerful return of the youngster in Australia for the BGT 2024-25.
Ravi Shastri was stunned to see the progress of Rishabh Pant since his comeback in the Tests
The Uttar Pradesh-born has featured in seven Tests down under, where he has smashed 624 runs in 12 innings at an average of 62.40 and a strike rate of over 72 with the help of two half-centuries and one century at the best score of unbeaten 159 runs.
Ravi Shastri has called for how he has gained respect for the game since his comeback. The aggressive version of the batter has progressed him even more, as he has cracked 2693 runs in 38 Tests at an average of 44.15 and a strike rate of over 75, shouldering on six centuries and 14 half-centuries.
“When you speak to him now the respect he has for the game is even more. He was nowhere. Suddenly, he is back, and he values that. But I have seen him work hard over the past few months to get into the shape he is to play Test cricket.” Ravi Shastri addressed.
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Pant was returning home from the Bangladesh tour when his Mercedes SUV hit the strip on the road, which resulted in the car flipping and catching fire immediately, prompting the keeper to break the screen to get out.
“First time in my life, I had that feeling of letting it go. I felt my time in this world was over. When my accident happened, I felt something spiritual saved me. I can’t even imagine how much worse it could have been. Doctors even spoke to me about amputation.” Pant expressed in a discussion on Star Sports.
Ravi Shastri was the head of the Indian team when they won their last two consecutive Test series in Australia during the 2018/19 and 2020/21 seasons.