‘I will slap you Rishabh Pant. Your injury has spoiled India’s team combination’ | Cricket

As Rishabh Pant continues to recover from the tragic accident he suffered last year, he needs all the prayers to get back on his feet as early as possible. But amid a flurry of good wishes storming towards him, one unexpected statement from a legendary Indian cricketer has come as a total shock. On December 30, Pant endured a horrific car crash while on his way to Roorkie and suffered multiple injuries, enough to sideline him from cricket for at least a year. He has torn three key ligaments in his knee, two of which were reconstructed recently while a surgery on a third is expected after six weeks.

Once that is done, provided Pant is discharged on time and begins his rehabilitation, the minimum it will take him is another six months, all but ruling him out of the World Cup and most likely the entire 2023. Pant’s absence is a void that will definitely be felt by India and more so in Tests, where the young wicketkeeper batter has already reached legendary status. With a place in the World Test Championship up for grabs and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting tomorrow, how India deal with Pant’s absence will make for an interesting factor in their WTC final chances.

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Pant’s unavailability has further thrown the team combination into a quandary, which is the reason why Kapil Dev, the former India captain, is not happy with Pant’s reckless accident. Kapil stated out that once Pant recovers, he will go and ‘slap’ him while wishing him a speedy recovery.

“I love him very much. I want him to get well and when he gets well If you go, I will go and slap you hard, because take care of yourself. Look, your injury has spoiled the combination of the whole team. That’s why there is love and affection that you get well soon. Then there is also anger that such mistakes today’s youth Why do boys do it? There should be a slap for that too,” Kapil said on Uncut.

While Kapil’s concern comes from a good place in his heart, his statement does tend to take people aback. Having said that, Kapil did raise a good point. Without Pant, the Indian team management is looking for answers in the middle order. Not only for wicketkeeping purposes but also batting. Pant’s swashbuckling and attacking style, the ability to capture the bull by its horns and counter-attack when the chips are down are factors that will definitely be missed by India. And the only player who can play a similar role from that position is Suryakumar Yadav. Surya, who been quite the revelation for the world in T20Is, earned his maiden Test call-up and there is a strong possibility of him slotting in India’s middle order to play a Pant-like innings.