Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that the return of Rishabh Pant to international cricket was the biggest surprise for him in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pant missed competitive cricket for about 14 months after his horrific accident in December 2022. He sustained multiple injuries during the car accident. The 26-year-old had a tough recovery battle as he sustained a severe right knee injury that required a ligament reconstruction surgery besides a fractured wrist and ankle.

Pant returned to competitive cricket with IPL 2024 after undergoing an extensive rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru. He had a terrific IPL season with the bat on return and scored 446 runs for Delhi Capitals this season at an average of 40.5 and strike rate of 155.4. He was picked over the likes of KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma in the T20 World Cup squad as one of the two wicketkeeping options.

He did a terrific job behind the stumps and took some sensational catches. He also won the fielder of the match award twice for his incredible keeping against Pakistan and England. Pant’s big moment came against Pakistan. Pant topped a match-winning 42 in the group game with three sharp catches. The southpaw scored 171 runs in eight matches at an average of 24.42 in the T20 World Cup-winning campaign for India.

Shastri picked Rishabh Pant’s comeback to international cricket as the 26-year-old’s keeping especially stood out to him.

“He did his job with the bat, but it was his keeping that really surprised everyone. For someone to recover that quickly and then move the way he did. He hardly missed anything, albeit he must have felt the pressure as the tournament got on because it's not easy to come back and do all the stuff he did,” Shastri told ICC.

However, Pant has yet to play an ODI since 2022 as he missed out on a chance to get into the playing XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka as team management went ahead with KL Rahul as the keeper batter. However, it is highly likely for him to get a chance in the remaining two matches as this series is crucial for India starting their preparations for the Champions Trophy next year.