• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Rishabh Pant will make his return in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Delhi Capitals' captain and play the first half of the tournament as a pure batter, the franchise co-owner Parth Jindal confirmed.

Pant, who missed last year's cricketing season including the IPL, will make his first-ever appearance in competitive cricket in the IPL 2024 after suffering fatal injuries in a horrific car accident in December, 2023.

The star cricketer is awaiting clearance from BCCI's medical team for the marquee tournament as Delhi Capitals team director Sourav Ganguly and head coach Ricky Ponting are confident that Pant will play the full tournament.

"Rishabh is batting. He's running. He has started his wicketkeeping. He is likely to be fully fit for the IPL. I am expecting Rishabh to play IPL and he will lead from match one. First seven games we are going to play him only as a batter and depending on how his body reacts, we will take a call for the rest of the IPL," ESPNcricinfo quoted Jindal as saying on Thursday.

ALSO READ: IPL 2024 Schedule For First Half  

Pant is inching close to his full fitness as he played practice matches in Alur, Bengaluru this week which were scheduled by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) as the wicketkeeper-batter continues to rehabilitate under the supervision of BCCI.

The 26-year-old has also started wicketkeeping drills and even posted a video of it on Instagram recently. He also participated in a 20-over game on Wednesday, which included batting and fielding drills and match simulations. The BCCI medical team supervised the game. There were no obvious concerns.

Delhi Capitals' first two home matches in IPL 2024 have been shifted to Visakhapatnam from Delhi as Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the second half of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 comprising 11 matches including the playoffs and pitches will not get time to recover properly for the IPL 2024 matches that starts on March 22. Delhi Capitals will take on Punjab Kings in their opening match on March 23 in Mohali.

ALSO READ | IND vs ENG 4th Test: England Name Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir In Playing 11

Jindal also confirmed that South African pacer Anrich Nortje will be available for the franchise from the first match and will also join the preparatory camp in Vizag. Nortje played 10 games in IPL 2023 for Delhi Capitals before pulling out of the tournament for personal reasons. Nortje has been out of action for Proteas and played his last international game in September last year.

The speedster had to pull out of the ODI series against Australia after a suspected back stress fracture and was also ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. His participation in the IPL was doubtful as he missed the recently-concluded SA20.

"He's fit. Right now, he is bowing at 80% intensity. Next week, he will bowl at 100%. He's going to make his comeback in the IPL. He is going to join our camp and should be good to go for our first game," Jindal said.