Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant has recalled the time when he donned the national jersey for the first time. The wicketkeeper-batter made his debut on February 1, 2017 during the third and final T20I against England at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. During a recent interaction, Pant went down the memory lane to reveal his first experience as an Indian cricketer. He recalled that the seniors in the team welcomed him wholeheartedly and made him feel at home since day one.
"The majority of the time I didn't feel like that. I was in awe at the beginning. You had watched all of them on TV. But they were all welcoming. Even the super seniors made me comfortable. It's the team culture to make everyone comfortable. And when it happens at the start, it's good. Because at 17-18 years you know nothing about life," Pant told Star Sports.
"You have experiences, of course; I tried to learn as a kid. I think all of these things are a benefit, not everyone gets experiences like these. And the things you learn from your experiences help you a lot in your life. Your brain starts reading life like that," he added.
Coming back to Pant's debut, the wicketkeeper-batter played just three balls and remained unbeaten on 5.
India went on to put up a massive score of 202/6 on the back of half-centuries from Suresh Raina and Dhoni.
In reply, England were bowled out for 127 as India won the game by 75 runs.
Meanwhile, it's been more than a year since Pant got injured in a brutal car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.
Pant has been out of action since the incident, but he is slowly regaining his fitness and is expected to return to the pitch this year.
He recently posted a story of him on Instagram, sweating it out in the gym, as he looks to make his first appearance on the field of cricket since December 2022.
The first hint of his return to IPL came back in November when he attended a Delhi Capitals camp in Kolkata, attended by senior support staff of the team including Sourav Ganguly (director of cricket), Ricky Ponting (head coach), and Pravin Amre (assistant coach). Subsequently, Pant took part in the discussions about the retention and release of players ahead of the auction.
Pant was also present in Dubai for the mini-auction of the latest edition of the IPL.