Pant: 'Whatever happens, I had to be back on the ground'

After a short cameo in his first game back after a life-threatening car accident in December 2022 and a laboured 28 in his second, Rishabh Pant blazed a 32-ball 51 as Delhi Capitals registered their first win of the season against Chennai Super Kings.

He was 23 off 23 at one point, but hit his next eight balls for 28 runs before slicing a skier to long-off.

“See, as a cricketer I don’t think about [feeling like being back], but at the same time I have to give my 100% each and every day,” Pant said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “So what I did was I took my time initially because I haven’t played much cricket in the last one-and-a-half to two years so I thought I have to give myself enough time.

“At the same time I kept believing that I could change the match at the end.”

“One-and-a-half years,” Pant said about how long he has waited to be back on the field. “Because every day I love to be on the field and this is something I have depended my life on.

“Yes, that one-and-a-half years was a wait but at the same time you’ve got to keep doing what you can as a cricketer and keep learning from it.”

Pant said he never worried about not being able to play cricket again.

“I think I always had self belief that whatever happens in life, I need to be back on the ground,” Pant said. “That was the thought process and I never thought about anything else.”

More to follow…

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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