Rishabh Pant's Comeback Date Is Locked; Delhi Capitals Captain Set To Return In IPL 2024, Says Report

India's wicketkeeper and batter Rishabh Pant who has been out of the sport for almost an year now will miss some more months on the sidelines as he aims to bounce back after being completely fit. As per a report, Pant is highly likely to make a comeback in the next season of Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant is the captain of IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC). As per a report in Cricbuzz, DC have confirmed that Pant will be leading the team in IPL 2024.

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The report further states that DC management have a close eye on rehabilitation of Pant and they are expected that the captain will be fully fit by the end of February. Currently, Pant is undergoing rehab at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Pant was seen at the DC trials in Kolkata in November with Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly. That was the first sign that Pant was returning to captain DC again.

In his absence in IPL 2023, Pant was replaced by Australian opening batter David Warner as the captain. The team failed to reach the playoffs in the last season. 

Bouncing back with every rep. _ #RP17 pic.twitter.com/1BkZAhNDHE — Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) December 5, 2023

Last year on morning of December 31, Pant's car lost control and crashed into a divider on the Delhi-Haridwar highway. He miraculously survived the nearly-fatal accident. Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala performed a surgery on his right knee. Later, it was known that Pant did not require any other surgery and his rehab began. This year Pant has only focussed on working on his body. Pant is a wicketkeeper and it will be interesting to see whether he is still able to keep wickets after injuries to his ankle and knee.

Pant is still only 26 and has many years of international cricket left in him. Missing out on year of international cricket is not a small thing. With the support of the coaching staff and his colleagues, Pant can still become the same player who won big matches for India with the bat.

Coming to IPL, DC have never won the trophy, making it to the final only once since the league started in 2008. Ricky Ponting is continuing as the head coach of the team and he will be happy with the original leader is back to captain the side as the next season nears.