Rishabh Pant has a huge fan in Grace Hayden. Pant’s comeback story reads like something from the cinema. In December 2022, he was involved in a near-fatal car crash that left him with multiple serious injuries. He dislocated his knee, ankle, wrist, and had back injuries. Doctors gave him a long road to rehabilitation. Yet, defying expectations, Pant was back in competitive cricket in under 15 months, first returning via the IPL and then starring in the T20 World Cup and Test cricket with equal flair.
Grace Hayden has a soft spot for Pant
When I spoke to Grace Hayden for an exclusive interview with InsideSport, her admiration for Rishabh Pant was there to be seen and genuine. Asked to choose between Pant and KL Rahul, she didn’t hesitate.
“I have a soft spot for Rishabh Pant. Because of his injury. I think the way that he has come back, fighting, and to play at the level he is playing right now. Ridiculous. That is one strong human being. Hats off. That’s a gangsta (on Pant coming out to bat even after fracturing his toe against England),” Hayden told InsideSport.
Pant returned with more flair and dominated. Earlier this year in England, Pant racked up 479 runs at 68.43, including centuries at Headingley, and became the only Indian wicketkeeper to score hundreds in both innings of a Test. However, God tested Pant once again when he fractured his toe during the Manchester Test against England. Even as scans confirmed the injury and doctors advised six weeks’ rest, Pant defied them, limping onto the field less than 24 hours later to bat.
Limping, yet fearless, he took on the English bowlers and smashed a counter-attacking half-century, delighting the Old Trafford crowd. It was a statement indeed.
Grace, who has been an admirer for Pant’s courage, could’ve got to work with Pant had the southpaw not fractured his toe. The fracture ruled Pant out for more than a month, which meant he was unavailable for the Delhi Premier League (DPL), where Grace serves as one of the anchors. Earlier this year, Pant was retained by the Purani Dilli 6 and was set to play DPL 2025.
Grace’s full interview will be out soon on InsideSport, and I for one can’t wait for our audience to hear the rest of her reflections.
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