Bengaluru: Rishabh Pant’s return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A’s four-day match against South Africa A starting here on Thursday.
Pant had sustained a foot injury during the fourth Test against England on July 23, and the wicketkeeper batter has been on the rehabilitation route ever since.
Pant had missed the home Test series against the West Indies in this interim. But these two four-day games at the BCCI CoE grounds, in which he will lead India A, offer him the perfect chance to shed the accumulated rust ahead of the two-match Test series at home against world champions South Africa.
The 28-year-old might be replacing Dhruv Jurel, who did an excellent job against the Windies, as the wicketkeeper batter against the Proteas.
Now, Pant, who has been practicing at the CoE, will be eager to spend some quality time on the field in a real match situation unless the persistent rain in this part plays spoilsport.
Meanwhile, Sai Sudharsan’s last outing was in the second Test against West Indies earlier this month, and these two ‘A’ games will give him valuable match time ahead of the South Africa series. The Tamil Nadu batter seemed to have occupied the No. 3 slot for the time being but he would definitely
like a big score.