After a gap of 634 days, India's keeper-batter Rishabh Pant is set to make a comeback in the Test team in the upcoming series against Bangladesh. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the 1st match of the series and has included the star batter after his magnificent batting effort in the Duleep Trophy 2024. Pant scored a blistering half-century in the 1st match against Team India A and announced his return to red-ball cricket. His weird yet entertaining shots during the match reminded the fans of his innings in Gabba, Australia, in 2021.
However, his journey has been inspirational to a great extent. A year ago, Pant met with an unfortunate accident and was bedridden for months. He couldn't walk but had the passion to play for his country once again. Now, he's making himself and the entire nation proud by making a comeback in his favourite format. Pant participated in the IPL 2024, where he scored tons of runs but couldn't help his team win the trophy.
It didn't even occur in anyone's mind that he had been away from cricket for a long time while watching him play in the IPL. His spirit and passion for the game taught an important lesson that if you want to achieve something, it will happen eventually, but with a lot of hard work and persistence. This is one of the reasons why he's been a fan favourite for quite a long time. Now, watching him in the whites and scoring runs for the country will fill up every Indian's heart with pride and respect.
Also Check: India announce their Test squad for home series against Bangladesh
BCCI's ignorance toward Ruturaj Gaikwad continues
While the squad was released for the upcoming Bangladesh tour, Yash Dayal got his maiden call-up from the Board. His performance was brilliant in the previous domestic season, including the Duleep Trophy 2024. However, BCCI once again ignored Ruturaj Gaikwad from the Test team even after performing in the tournament. This decision has riled up the fans and the Board is facing their wrath on social media.
Also Read: Fans fume as Ruturaj Gaikwad left out of India's Test squad for 1st match against Bangladesh
Gaikwad has scored runs consistently in the domestic set-up and even during the Zimbabwe series. But the selectors kept on ignoring him in the white-ball cricket, and now they are doing the same thing in Test cricket. The Board hasn't come up with any explanation regarding this, but the fans are hopeful of hearing from the Chief Selector, Ajith Agarkar, in the upcoming days.