Watch: India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant bats for the first time since horrific car crash

In what will come as a great news for followers of Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant was seen wielding the willow for the first time in nearly a year.

Pant has been out of action since meeting with a horrific car accident while driving towards his hometown of Roorkee last December. The Delhi Capitals captain would not only miss out on key events such as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, this year’s Indian Premier League and the ICC World Test Championship final, he is also expected to miss the ODI World Cup that returns to Indian shores after more than a decade.

India and Delhi Capitals teammate Ishant Sharma even expects Pant to not feature in next year’s IPL.

A video that has surfaced on microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), however, will have brought joy to Indian cricket fans and given them hope of seeing the cricketer in action sooner rather than later.

The clip, shared by X user @IsraqueAhamed, shows Pant walking out to bat, dressed in a white t-shirt and a cap in what is purportedly JSW Group’s Vijaynagar plant. Pant played a handful of shots, including an aerial cover drive that elicited a loud cheer from spectators present at the exhibition game that is believed to have taken place on Independence Day.

Watch the video here

@RishabhPant17 back in the ground