IPL 2024: Pant rides on range of emotions as he gears up for his first match in 15 months

Rishabh Pant during DC’s practice session at Mullanpur, Mohali, yesterday. Pic/PTI

Rishabh Pant is experiencing an entire gamut of emotions from nervousness to excitement as he gears up for his first competitive game in nearly 15 months when he leads Delhi Capitals (DC) in their IPL opener against Punjab Kings (PBKS) here on Saturday.

Coming back after a painstakingly long rehab following a horrific car crash in December, 2022, Pant feels grateful to be back on the 22-yard strip.

"Jittery, nervous, excited...all of it, but at the same time, just happy, being able to come back to professional cricket. I'm just looking forward to playing my first game tomorrow [Saturday]," Pant said ahead of his team's first match of the season.

The ace 'keeper-batter knows that it will take time to get back to his old self and he wants to take one day at a time with extended batting sessions at the DC nets as that will give him a better chance to execute his wide range of strokes.

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‘Want to bat for long'

"Every time I take the field, it's a different feeling altogether. I think, as a batter, as long as I can bat. It is better because the more I bat, I will be in a better position to execute shots, muscle memory is intact even though I haven't played for nearly a year and half," the swashbuckling batter said.

"But I have been playing since childhood, so it doesn't go away that easily. So, the more I practice, the better chance I will give myself as a cricketer," he added.
It is not yet clear whether Pant will start his keeping duties immediately. In case he doesn't, DC will fall back on either West Indian Shai Hope or South Africa's Tristan Stubbs.

DC have a potent fast bowling arsenal, backed up by an explosive batting line-up.

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Warner, who recently retired from the Test cricket, will be hoping to make a mark and secure a spot in the T20 World Cup-bound Australian side. In Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Pant and Stubbs, DC have explosive batting line-up, while their bowling attack will be led by Anrich Nortje in the company of Indian veteran Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

The Punjab trophy cabinet is empty too. They have made it to the final only once, in 2014, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders on that occasion.

After finishing sixth for four consecutive seasons between 2019 and 2022, PBKS dropped to eighth in 2023, and will look to turn things around this time.

Dhawan has a point to prove

In Shikhar Dhawan, PBKS have a skipper who would be desperate to prove a point after being side-lined from the national set-up.

PBKS have a new vice-captain in Jitesh Sharma but Jonny Bairstow's form would be a concern.

The side have some feisty all-rounders in Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Rishi Dhawan while the bowling attack will be led by Kagiso Rabada in the company of Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel and Nathan Ellis.

But they have rarely come together as a unit to go the distance, making Delhi the favourites for the day game.

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