Last Updated: October 21, 2025 02:55 PM
Rishabh Pant returns to cricket after months of waiting and worrying about his injured toe. The star wicketkeeper will lead India A against South Africa A in two four-day games. Fans couldn’t be happier seeing their favourite player back on the field.
How Pant’s Injury Happened
Rishabh broke his toe during that tough Manchester Test against England in July this year. It was a painful injury that forced him out of action immediately after. He missed the entire West Indies home Test series, sitting on the sidelines, frustrated.
The medical staff at BCCI kept checking on him every few weeks throughout his recovery. Pant put in serious work at the NCA to get back. The scans done last week showed his toe had healed properly now.
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Taking Charge of India A
Rishabh Pant returns to cricket wearing the captain’s hat for India A this time around. Both matches will be played at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence between Oct 30 to Nov 2, and Nov 6 to Nov 9. South Africa A always brings competitive players, so Pant faces a proper test here. The selectors are clearly looking at building depth for future tours ahead.
India A squad for the 1st match:
Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain
India A squad for the 2nd match:
Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
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Pant Gets His Chance
These games matter a lot for Rishabh Pant returns to cricket journey right now. India’s senior team flies to Kolkata on November 14 for their South Africa tour. Pant needs to show he’s match-fit and ready for the bigger challenges coming.
Selectors will be watching every move he makes during these four-day games closely. His batting and keeping both need to look sharp if he wants that plane ticket. Everyone’s rooting for him to smash it and get back into Team India soon.
