New York, May 30
Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant had his first nets session for Team India after at least 16 months, ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup opener against Ireland, scheduled for June 5.
The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to 29. The Men in Blue will also play Bangladesh in their only warm-up game on June 1 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Pant, who returned to competitive cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year following a life-threatening road accident in December 2022, will be making his much-awaited return to the blue colours of the Indian jersey.
In the recently concluded IPL 2024, Rishabh's team Delhi Capitals finished in the sixth spot with seven wins, seven losses and 14 points and failed to move to playoffs. He scored 446 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of over 155 with three half-centuries and emerged as the team's top run-getter.
Pant looked in great shape while practicing, having lost a lot of weight, and sported a much leaner look ahead of the tournament.
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In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Pant said, "This is one thing I missed a lot (practicing with the Indian team and playing for them). Getting back on the field with the Indian jersey on, it is a different feel altogether and this is something I missed a lot. I think seeing the teammates and meeting them again, spending time, having fun with them, enjoying having conversations, really enjoying it."
Pant said that playing in the USA is a different prospect and it has opened a whole new channel for the sport.
"We are used to playing in certain countries but this is a different prospect. It has opened up a different channel for sport because I feel cricket is growing around the world and getting in a country like the US and getting the exposure here would be nice for cricket as well as USA cricket I guess," he said.
He said he is getting used to the conditions and the sun shines a little brighter here in the US and there are new pitches.
"So just getting used to conditions over here and let us see how it goes. Hopefully, I make it count and make it more better from here," he concluded.
In seven T20 WC matches and five innings, he has scored 87 runs at an average of 21.75 across 2021 and 2022 editions, with the best score of 39.
India will start their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Meanwhile, the most-awaited blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9. They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to wrap up their Group A matches.
In the tournament, India will be aiming to end their ICC trophy drought, having last won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then, India has reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2023, semifinal in 2015 and 2019, the title clash of the ICC World Test Championship in 2021 and 2023, T20 WC final in 2014, semifinals in 2016 and 2022 but failed to secure a big ICC trophy.
India will be aiming to win their first T20 WC title since they won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2007 in South Africa. In the last edition held in Australia in 2022, India lost to England by 10 wickets in the semifinals.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.