Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant makes a comeback into India’s test squad for the upcoming 2-match home series against Bangladesh, which will be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2023–25, starting from September 19 (Thursday) in Chennai. On Sunday (September 8), the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) announced the 16-member squad for India’s first test match.
Coincidentally, Pant made his last appearance in test cricket against Bangladesh in December 2022 before facing a terrible car accident. Recently, the 26-year-old Indian cricketer marked his return to the red ball format during the Duleep Trophy 2024 and was part of the India B team that triumphed over India A in Bengaluru.
After a gap of 20 months, Rishabh Pant returns to the Indian national cricket team’s test squad. While Virat Kohli, who missed the 5-match test series against England earlier this year, is set to return to action.
Dhruv Jurel and Safraraz Khan, who delivered an impressive performance in the England test secured their spot among several core players in the squad led by Rohit Sharma. Since Pant and Jurel are the two wicketkeeping options, it is understood that KL Rahul’s role will be limited only to batting thereby reducing the additional workload behind the stumps.
Rishabh Pant’s Last Test Match Performance
Pant scored 102 runs in the 2nd and last test match of the series against Bangladesh in Mirpur, which was indeed his last outing in the red ball cricket before encountering a life-threatening accident. He scored 148 runs throughout the test match series. Here is Rishabh Pant’s score in the Bangladesh series in December 2022:
1st Test Match:
1st innings: 46 runs from 45 balls (including 6 fours and 2 sixes).
2nd Test Match:
1st innings: 93 runs from 104 balls (including 7 fours and 5 sixes).
2nd innings: 9 runs from 13 balls (including 1 four).
A Comeback into Cricket After 453 Days: IPL, T20 World Cup 2024, and White Ball Series vs Sri Lanka
Finally, Rishabh Pant succeeded in playing IPL 2024 for his team Delhi Capitals as a captain, nearly taking a break of 15 months and 3 days (453 days) in his cricketing career. Despite a long gap in his cricketing career, Pant was the 12 highest run scorer in the season scoring 446 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.55.
He succeeded in grabbing the selectors’ attention and sealed his spot in the T20 World Cup 2024. Interestingly, Pant performed well with his new batting slot at number 3 position in the tournament where he scored 171 runs in 8 innings at an average of 24.42.
However, during India’s white-ball tour in Sri Lanka in July–August 2024, Pant scored just 51 runs in 2 T20I matches of the series with his highest score being just 49 runs. He was able to score only 6 runs in the last and final ODI match of the series against Sri Lanka.
In contrast to his T20 performance, Pant wasn’t able to make a strong comeback in ODIs. It is a huge challenge for the young Indian cricketer to prove his worth in the longest format of cricket in the upcoming series.
Rishabh Pant’s Performance in Duleep Trophy 2024
As of 9th September 2024, Rishabh Pant scored 68 runs in 2 innings of the first match against India A. He failed with the bat in the first innings by scoring just 7 runs from 10 balls, including a four at a batting strike rate of 70. However, he fought back in the 2nd innings by scoring 61 runs from just 47 balls (including 9 fours and 2 sixes) at a strike rate of 129.79, which set a tough target for India A to chase and resulted in his team winning the match by 76 runs.
India’s 16-Member Squad for 1st Test Match vs Bangladesh 2024
Here is Team India’s 16-member squad for 1st test match vs Bangladesh:
Batters:
Right-Handed Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan
Left-Handed Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal
Bowlers:
Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj.
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav
All Rounders:
Spin Bowling All-rounder: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel
What would be Rishabh Pant’s Batting Position in Test Match: India vs Bangladesh Series 2024
Possibly, Rishabh Pant’s batting position in Team India’s test match line-up could be at the 5th or 6th position. This is because the top four spots are fixed for key players such as Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, Shubman Gill at 3rd position, and Virat Kohli at no.4. There are chances that either Rishabh Pant could bat at no.5 position while KL Rahul at no.6 or vice versa.
Rishabh Pant vs Dhruv Jurel: Who could get maximum chance to seal their spot in playing XI
In terms of experience, Rishabh Pant could be the prime choice for Team India’s test-playing XI, since he could bolster the middle-order batting line-up with his aggressive batting style. But, while considering the ability to anchor the team’s innings, Dhruv Jurel could be the promising option who can deliver a composed performance under pressure and steer his side to a competitive total.
It becomes clear that any one of these two wicketkeepers would be part of India’s playing XI based on the pitch condition and the opponent team’s strengths.
Overall Thoughts:
It is a miracle that Rishabh Pant seals his position in the 16-member squad for India’s test match series after recovering from multiple injuries. However, with Dhruv Jurel as a competitor in the test squad, it is a challenge for Pant to prove his abilities to strengthen his position in the playing XI of the upcoming test matches in his career