Ahead of the IPL 2024 season, all eyes are on Rishabh Pant, who missed last year’s tournament due to the injuries sustained in a horrific car crash on December 30, 2022.

Notably, Pant tore all three key ligaments in his right knee and had three successful reconstructive surgeries in the aftermath of the near-fatal accident.

Subsequently, the southpaw underwent an extended rehabilitation at the NCA and missed out on all the action last year, including the World Cup, WTC final and Asia Cup.

With exactly a month remaining for the IPL 2024, former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel has hailed Rishabh Pant as a blockbuster player, adding that hopefully we can see him hitting sixes again.

However, Patel feels Pant’s comeback won’t be easy as the latter has been out of action for the last 14 months.

“Pant is very positive. He is a blockbuster player. Whenever he comes, he does something and makes his team win. You want to see him play all the time. He's a great package. On top of everything, he's recovered really well after that accident. Hopefully we'll see him hitting sixes again,” said Patel while speaking to JioCinema.

“But it won't be easy. We all know that making a comeback after being on the sidelines for so long is not easy. How mentally tough and prepared he is will matter a lot,” he added.

Rishabh Pant was last seen in action during the tour of Bangladesh in December 2022. Mirpur Test against Bangladesh was his last appearance before he met with the accident.

The swashbuckling left-hander might return to action in Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2024 opener, scheduled for March 23 against the Punjab Kings in Mohali.