IPL 2024: Want to bat as long as possible and get better every day, says “nervous” Pant

Rishabh Pant is experiencing an entire gamut of emotions from nervousness to excitement as he gears up for his first competitive game in nearly 15 months when he leads Delhi Capitals in their IPL opener against Punjab Kings here on Saturday.

Coming back after a painstakingly long rehab following a horrific car crash in December, 2022, Pant feels grateful to be back on the 22-yard strip.

“Jittery, nervous, excited…all of it, but at the same time, just happy, being able to come back to professional cricket. I’m just looking forward to playing my first game tomorrow,” Pant said ahead of his team’s first match of the season.

The ace keeper-batter knows that it will take time to get back to his old self and he wants to take one day at a time with extended batting sessions at the DC nets as that will give him a better chance to execute his wide range of strokes.

“Every time I take the field, it’s a different feeling altogether. I think, as a batter, as long as I can bat. It is better because the more I bat, I will be in a better position to execute shots, muscle memory is intact even though I haven’t played for nearly a year and half,” the swashbuckling batter said.

“But I have been playing since childhood, so it doesn’t go away that easily. So, the more I practice, the better chance I will give myself as a cricketer,” he added.

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Having endured a painful break, Pant doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“I just want to be there in the moment. I don’t think much ahead. I take one day at a time, and give my 100%. Every time I take field, I love this game more and more,” he added while talking about Delhi Capitals’ pre-season camp in Visakhapatnam.

Just like his batting, Pant wants to keep his team’s approach as simple as possible.

“Most of the conversations are pretty simple. We just want to go out there, have fun, not complicate things and give our 100% in all the games,” he said.