It has been 13 months since Rishabh Pant played competitive cricket, but his wait to return to the field could end soon, as he is expected to lead the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Pant sustained multiple injuries after being involved in a near-fatal car accident. During his recovery phase, he enjoyed watching England play ‘Bazball’ cricket against Australia in the Ashes last year. After losing the first couple of games, Ben Stokes and Co. bounced back strongly to finish the five-match series 2-2. Pant, who has played some swashbuckling knocks in Test cricket, said that India captain Rohit Sharma told him that the team would look to play ‘Rishball’.
“Because England have started playing in a certain fashion, something I am used to [playing]. Rohit bhai says we will also play Rishball. He says you play that anyway, but we will get others also to follow you,” Pant told Star Sports in the show titled Believe: To Death and Back.
‘When you are inside, you control certain things’ – Rishabh Pant on watching Delhi Capitals’ disappointing IPL 2023 campaign from the sidelines
The wicketkeeper-batter couldn’t play the IPL last year and the Delhi Capitals decided to name David Warner as the skipper for the season. The Delhi-based franchise had a terrible time in the season, as they finished ninth in the 10-team tournament, having won five and lost nine out of their 14 matches.
Pant, who graced the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the home venue for the Capitals, said that it wasn’t a nice feeling to watch his team struggle from the outside. He mentioned that he would have done things differently had he been in the middle.
“Itna maza nahin aaya [I didn’t enjoy that much]. I was thinking we could do things this way or that way. I was discussing some things with them [Capitals’ think tank]. But since I was outside, it was different. When you are inside, you control certain things,” Pant added.