Ricky Ponting has opened up on Rishabh Pant's rise and hailed him as a match-winner.© AFP
Indian cricket team wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant suffered a life-threatening car crash on December 2022. The 26-year-old sustained multiple injuries after his car rammed into a divider at the Delhi-Dehradun highway. However, Pant a remarkable comeback this year, featuring in competitive cricket for the first time since his accident during the Indian Premier League (IPL). He then played a key role in India's T20 World Cup-winning campaign in June. With India set to tour Australia for a five-match Test series later this year, Pant, just like he did last time, will have to play a key role for the team in the middle-order. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has opened up on Pant's rise and hailed him as a match-winner.
"We've all seen him play and heard him in the stump mic, he's an infectious character to have around the group. He loves his cricket, he's a winner, that's what he is. He doesn't just play to make a few runs and be out there for the fun of it. He must have 4 or 5 Test hundreds already and he's got about nine 90s as well. [MS] Dhoni played for 120 Tests (90) and made 3 or 4 hundreds (6), this is how good this guy (Pant) is. He's a serious cricketer," Ponting told Sky Sports.
Ponting was Pant's coach at Delhi Capitals and was constantly in touch with him during his rehab process. Despite the mental and physical challenges, Ponting hailed Pant for his earlier-than-expected comeback to cricket.
"It's a remarkable comeback. If you can see even his leg now and listen to the stories he tells about what he confronted during his car accident, just the mental scarring that comes with that but the physical side and the rehab he went through, I didn't think he would play last year's IPL (2024)"
"But 12 months before, he said 'Don't worry about me, I guarantee you I'll be right for the IPL'. We thought he'll be able to bat and we might have to use him as a sub player (Impact Player) but he kept every game, was one of our leading run-scorers, bats No. 3 in the T20 World Cup and is part of a World Cup winning team and is named in the Test squad now," he added.