Rishabh Pant suffers burn on his leg while attending last rites of father

Upcoming wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant dealt with the unfortunate news of his father’s passing away on Wednesday night. Pant soon rushed to his hometown, Roorkee – where the tragic incident occurred. His father Rajendra Pant was 53 and suffered a heart attack.

Rajendra was cremated on Thursday at Kankhal in Haridwar where Rishabh was also present to perform the last rites. Rishabh’s leg, reportedly, caught fire during the funeral rites and suffered a burn. He was provided with first-aid immediately. While Rishabh is expected to fulfil his professional commitments even after this tragic loss; Delhi Daredevils, the franchise Pant is part of, will be hoping that the injury is not too serious.

After having a breakaway Ranji Trophy season, Daredevils is expecting a lot from Rishabh Pant. He hammered the domestic bowlers around and the Zaheer Khan-led team will be hoping that he could emulate the success in the IPL as well.

The 19-year-old finished the Ranji Season with 972 runs scored at an average of 81 and a staggering strike rate of 107. Mind you, this was his statistics in the 4-Day game. He scored 4 centuries during the season – including a triple hundred and a 48-ball hundred.

On the backs of such a domestic season, Pant was rewarded with a national call-up. Though he figured in just the solitary T20 against England, Pant is expected to get more chances in future.

The left-hander will play a key role for Delhi in this IPL due to the unavailability of the South African duo of De Kock and JP Duminy. He will be expected to keep wickets and perform a blistering role at the top of the order, something what De Kock did last season.

Daredevils will play their first game of the season against RCB on Saturday and Pant is expected to join the squad a day before the game.