'Just a Matter of Time Before he Regains His Form': Navjot Sidhu on Rishabh Pant's Return to Cricket

The former Indian opening batter, Navjot Singh Sidhu remains optimistic about Rishabh Pant coming back in form after making his return after a 15-month-long absence after his involvement in a car accident.

The 26-year-old made his return to the Indian Premier League, leading the Delhi Capitals in their opening game against the Punjab Kings at the Mullanpur Stadium, Mohali.

But the former Indian international thinks that it is just a matter of time until he is back to his very best. ” He is leading Delhi Capitals and running between the wickets and playing good cricket. Just a matter of time before he will regain his form. But, importantly, Indian cricket has got its fine gem back, and we should be thankful to God on his return to the field,” Sidhu commented while speaking to Star Sports on ‘Cricket Live’.

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Pant made his return and received a standing ovation from the crowds as he walked into bat. He made a quick 18 runs off 13 deliveries but was dismissed by Harshal Patel.

He also revealed his initial reaction to hearing the news of Pant’s accident. He said, “When this accident happened, I saw the picture of the vehicle. Everything got burned, and there was no vehicle at the scene. How anyone can survive that sort of horrifying accident?”

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His return to captaincy was not a favourable one as DC went on to lose their opening game with a fine batting performance by PBKS led by the English duo, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone to help them chase down 175 in 19.2 overs.

The Capitals’ bowling unit took a massive hit as they lost their experienced pacer, Ishant Sharma due to injury. He had picked up the wickets of both PBKS openers in his second over and soon after, rolled his ankle while fielding at mid-wicket to rule him out of the fixture.

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In DC’s next game, they will take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur where they will look to pick up their first points of the season. Pant will also look to score big as he will look to help his side get the first win and get back into form with the T20 World Cup coming up in June 2024.