Star Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant is poised to return to competitive cricket in the second round of the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy, with Delhi’s fixtures beginning on October 25. Pant’s return will depend on clearance from a fitness assessment at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru later this week. If approved, he will rejoin the Delhi squad and resume his domestic route back into India’s Test plans.
Rishabh Pant Nearing Full Fitness After Foot Injury
Pant has been sidelined since late July after fracturing his right foot at Old Trafford while inside-edging a reverse-sweep off Chris Woakes. Although he initially retired hurt, he later returned to continue his innings but was unable to keep wicket. The injury ruled him out of India’s home Tests against West Indies and the white-ball tour to Australia.
According to reports, Pant is in the final phase of rehabilitation. His foot was removed from the cast over three weeks ago, and he has been progressing through mobility work, weight training, and batting drills. The CoE medical team will make the final decision, prioritizing caution for a player of Pant’s significance.
A DDCA official said,
“𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑪𝒐𝑬. 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒋𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓 15 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑰𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎.”
Return Path to India’s Test Team
If cleared, Rishabh Pant could feature in up to two red-ball matches in the Ranji Trophy before India’s two-Test home series against South Africa starting November 14. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has indicated that this stint will allow Pant to regain match fitness and form ahead of the Test series.
Rishabh Pant’s participation in the first-round match on October 15 is uncertain. Delhi’s management will monitor his wicket-keeping, running between wickets, and workload management to ensure a safe and effective return.
Reflecting on Pant’s progress, a DDCA official added,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓 25 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.”
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