Director of Cricket at Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, Sourav Ganguly, has revealed when the National Cricket Academy will give the fitness clearance certificate to Rishabh Pant ahead of IPL 2024. As per Ganguly, the NCA in Bengaluru will clear Pant to participate in the IPL on March 5.

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Pant, who was appointed DC’s captain after the franchise didn’t retain their previous skipper, Shreyas Iyer, met with a road accident on New Year’s Eve in 2022, suffering several serious injuries. Although the locals saved him and succeeded in pulling him out of the burning car, Pant had to undergo several surgeries on his knees and other joints to stand tall.

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With the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League approaching (starting on March 22 in Chennai), Ganguly responded to queries related to Pant in an exclusive chat with the Times of India (TOI).

When asked if Delhi is looking at alternative options in case Pant fails to get a fitness clearance from the NCA, Ganguly said, “He has done everything to get fit, and that’s the reason NCA will clear him.”  

“Let Rishabh get cleared on March 5, only then we’ll talk about captaincy backups. We are taking a cautious approach with him because he has a very long career ahead of him.” 

“We don’t want to push him in excitement. We will see how Rishabh reacts. He will be joining the camp once NCA gives him the clearance. We will see match by match. We can’t predict,” the former India captain added.

Will Pant keep wickets? Ganguly answers

While Pant is almost sure to return to the playing XI for the upcoming season of the IPL, Ganguly revealed he might not take up the wicketkeeping duties.

“As for wicketkeeping options, there’s Kumar Kushagra. Ricky Bhui has had a very good season. There is Shai Hope and Tristan Stubbs,” Ganguly said.

“Rishabh coming back fit is a huge addition for us. We hope he plays the full season because he is a very special player. We have worked on some domestic players who have done well in all formats, but Rishabh is very important,” BCCI’s former president noted.

Meanwhile, the Indian Cricket Board has so far announced fixtures only until April 7 and will list out the remaining ones after the Indian government announces the date of the general elections. 

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