Indian cricket was hit with a major blow coming into 2023, which is a vital year with a World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Cricket World Cup on home soil on the cards, as Rishabh Pant suffered severe injuries after a horrific car crash on December 30.
Pant spent a long time in hospital recovering from his injuries as well as undergoing knee surgery. The star wicket-keeper has already missed India’s ongoing Test series against Australia and is set to sit out the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sourav Ganugly, who is Delhi Capitals‘ (DC) Director of Cricket provided a vital update on Pant’s recovery and put a major doubt on his availability for the 2023 ODI World Cup and even the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“I spoke to him a couple of times. Obviously he is going through a tough period, through injuries and surgeries and I wish him well. In a year’s time or may be in a couple of years’ time, he will be back playing for India,” Ganguly told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
DC has yet to name a replacement for Pant, and Ganguly stated the reason behind it. Young keeper Abhishek Porel and veteran Sheldon Jackson are the options in front of the Capitals. “We still need a bit of time to figure out. The next camp starts before IPL,” said Ganguly.
“The IPL is still a month away and the season has just started. It is difficult to get all the players together for the amount of cricket they play. There are four or five who are playing Irani Trophy. Sarfaraz has an injured finger and it’s not a broken finger. He should be okay for the IPL,” he added.
The 2023 IPL season will start on March 31. Delhi will open their campaign against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 1.
