Rishabh Pant Commences Red-Ball Practice Ahead Of The Duleep Trophy

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has begun his preparations for a red-ball comeback ahead of the Duleep Trophy, which kicks off on September 5.

Pant shared a video on Instagram showcasing his practice sessions, where he focused on his signature drives, lofted shots, and innovative reverse sweeps. In his post, he emphasized the importance of hard work and learning from experiences, stating, “I try not to have expectations because they can tend to tear you apart. I try to work as hard as I possibly can and give every ounce of a hundred percent & keep learning from it. #RP17.”

This upcoming tournament marks a significant moment for Pant, especially after his recovery from a life-threatening car accident in December 2022. He made his return to competitive cricket during the IPL, where he captained the Delhi Capitals, finishing as the team’s top run-scorer with 446 runs across 13 matches.

Pant has also been an integral part of India’s white-ball setup, contributing to the team’s ICC T20 World Cup victory, where he was the third-highest run-scorer for India. His performance included 171 runs and 14 dismissals, the highest by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 World Cup edition.

As he prepares for the Duleep Trophy, all eyes will be on Pant’s performance, particularly with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh beginning on September 19. Pant will be playing for India B in the Duleep Trophy and will be looking to showcase his talent in the longer format of the game.

Revised Squads for Duleep Trophy First Round:

India A:

• Shubman Gill (captain)
• Mayank Agarwal
• Riyan Parag
• Dhruv Jurel (wk)
• KL Rahul
• Tilak Varma
• Shivam Dube
• Tanush Kotian
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Akash Deep
• Prasidh Krishna
• Khaleel Ahmed
• Avesh Khan
• Vidwath Kaverappa
• Kumar Kushagra
• Shaswat Rawat

India B:

• Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain)
• Yashasvi Jaiswal
• Sarfaraz Khan
• Rishabh Pant (wk)
• Musheer Khan
• Nitish Kumar Reddy
• Washington Sundar
• Navdeep Saini
• Yash Dayal
• Mukesh Kumar
• Rahul Chahar
• R Sai Kishore
• Mohit Awasthi
• N Jagadeesan (wk)

India C:

• Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain)
• Sai Sudharsan
• Rajat Patidar
• Abishek Porel (wk)
• B Indrajith
• Hrithik Shokeen
• Manav Suthar
• Gaurav Yadav
• Vyshak Vijaykumar
• Anshul Khamboj
• Himanshu Chauhan
• Mayank Markande
• Aryan Juyal (wk)
• Sandeep Warrier

India D:

• Shreyas Iyer (captain)
• Atharva Taide
• Yash Dubey
• Devdutt Padikkal
• Ishan Kishan (wk)
• Ricky Bhui
• Saransh Jain
• Axar Patel
• Arshdeep Singh
• Aditya Thakare
• Harshit Rana
• Tushar Deshpande
• Akash Sengupta
• KS Bharat (wk)
• Saurabh Kumar

Pant’s performance in the Duleep Trophy will be closely watched as he aims to solidify his place in the Test squad, particularly with key series against Bangladesh and Australia on the horizon.