'Wasn't Just a Physical Battle, But I Had a Blast': Rishabh Pant Opens up on How he Enjoyed Himself During His Recovery Phase

After a gruelling 14 months away from cricket, Rishabh Pant is set to make his return and lead the Delhi Capitals for the 2024 Indian Premier League season. The wicketkeeper batter revealed some interesting insights during his difficult road to recovery.

Speaking to the Times of India, Pant shared that despite the process being much more than just the physical aspect, he still managed to find time to enjoy himself during the 14 months.

He said, “It wasn’t just a physical battle for me. I decided to have a blast because when you are on the road while playing, you have to be eating in a certain way to be in a certain physical shape. I had planned it in my mind how I had to go forward and I had absolute clarity about it.”

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The 26-year-old revealed that he enjoyed himself during the recovery period with good food, something he was unable to do when playing for the national team. He shared.” For the first few months, I was enjoying myself when it came to food because that was the only thing that kept me sane. I was so frustrated that I thought I couldn’t deny myself a good meal. There was nothing much I could have done.”

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Pant also revealed that later on he got back to focusing on his fitness and diet. He also revealed that to shed some of the weight, he had undergone some gruelling workout sessions which spanned up to three months.

Pant shared,” But later on, I started working hard on my fitness and nutrition. We now have a dedicated team looking after my nutrition. I gave myself about three months of intense workouts. I know I am strongly built to endure that. I just had to get rid of the extra weight and nutrition played a key role in that.”

The wicketkeeper batter’s highly anticipated return is something that the Indian cricketing fraternity will be looking forward to. Pant will be aiming to put his best foot forward and deliver for DC in their pursuit of their maiden title and later on secure a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad as well.