Rishabh Pant's comeback is complete - Test cricket's prodigal son returns to the fold

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IND vs BAN: Rishabh Pant made an emotional comeback to professional cricket after a 14-month injury lay-off in the IPL 2024. A near-fatal car accident in December 2022 could have led to a sad end to a terrifically budding career, but Pant walked out of the mouth of death, underwent several surgeries, and returned to action in record time.

Even his former Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting could not believe he was not only batting, but keeping wickets as well. The Australian had thought the max youngster could do is play as an Impact Player.

Intense training in rehabilitation, the positive mentality, and the prayers of the nation has brought back the same old agile and entraining Rishabh Pant back on the track. He enjoys the small things in life more now, his recent outing in Duleep Trophy 2024 matches was a blockbuster for the fans and the broadcasters. The vibrant 'Pahadi' created a 'gully cricket' environment, and then smashed a 34-ball fifty against world-class bowlers. It was his first red-ball outing in almost 21 months.

The 'original homecoming' of Rishabh Pant is happening now. The southpaw has been picked in the Indian Test team for the first Test against Bangladesh, and will be playing in whites on September 19.

The moment would be surreal for the Delhi batter as his last Test came against the same opposition, days before the horror car crash. Playing in the second Test match in Mirpur, Pant top-scored for India with 93 off 104 after India were reduced to 94/4. The knock helped India take a crucial 87-run first innings lead, and later chase a 145-run target with three wickets to spare.

Even though Pant is now a T20 World Cup winner, and is a regular in the ODIs as well, but he is well aware that Test cricket has made him the superstar and one of the the biggest match-winners from the country.

Pant's heroics against Gabba with his unbeaten 89 which helped India chase down 328 in the fourth innings - 324 runs on the final day of the match - to break Australia's 32-year unbeaten streak at the venue in 2021, unbeaten 159 off 189 which forced Australia to follow on in Sydney in 2019, fighting 114 off 146 balls at The Oval against England in 2018, another unbeaten 100 off 139 against South Africa after India were reduced to 58/4 in the second innings of the Cape Town in 2022, and several other knocks shows that Pant is a different beast in red-ball cricket.

He averages 33.50 in ODIs, 23.25 in T20Is, but an excellent 43.67 in Test cricket which has seen him score 2271 runs in 33 matches at a strike rate of 73.63. He has five hundreds and 11 fifties to his name in the format. The wicketkeeper-batter has been dismissed in the 90s six times in Test cricket. His mentor and role model MS Dhoni could score only six hundreds in 90-Test career - none outside India.

There are people like Virat Kohli, who take the format very seriously and verbally endorse Test cricket in press conferences and interviews. And there are people like Rishabh Pant, who are ready to play audacious reverse scoop against James Anderson, chase down 324 on Day 5 in Australia, continuously chirp near the stump mic to leave the fans in splits, and break the conventions to bring back the oldest format of the game to life.

Welcome back Rishabh Pant, Test cricket missed You!