'After 18 Months in Blue Jersey': Rishabh Pant's Fans in Kerala Make a Heartwarming Gesture After Making His Return to International Cricket

Rishabh Pant made a roaring comeback to Team India after a long hiatus of nearly 18 months. The wicketkeeper-batter announced his return to the international circuit with a brilliant half-century in a T20 World Cup warm-up match against Bangladesh in New York on June 1.

To mark Pant’s return, some of his fans in Kerala celebrated it uniquely. They visited an orphanage in Kollam, located in Kerala, and spent some quality time with the kids there. The fan club members, ‘All Kerala Rishabh Pant’, also cut a special cake, which featured a photo of the Delhi Capitals skipper wearing India’s T20 World Cup kit. It also had a text– “After 18 months in Blue Jersey.” Making the occasion more special, the fans distributed school bags and some other stationery kits among the kids at the orphanage.

Glimpses of the celebration were shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). A picture of the cake was also attached to the post. “Rishabh Pant fans in Kerala celebrated their Idol’s return to the Indian team after 18 long months in an orphanage in Kollam by distributing school bags and stationery kits to kids and cutting a cake with them,” read the caption of a now-viral social media post.

Social media users undoubtedly loved the gesture as they appreciated the efforts of the fans in the comments. “What a heartwarming celebration! Kudos to Rishabh Pant fans in Kerala for spreading joy and kindness” wrote one user.

Another person acknowledged, “So good to see this kind of thing.”

A fan wanted to see the best of Rishabh Pant in this T20 World Cup. “The way Rishabh Pant batted in the warm-up match, we hope he will bat like this in the entire T20 World Cup,” read the response.

Rishabh Pant suffered a horrific car accident in December 2022 and sustained several injuries. He was out of competitive cricket for more than a year before featuring in the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As the captain of the Delhi Capitals, Pant played 13 matches in the T20 tournament and aggregated 446 runs including three fifties. The Southpaw batted at a strike rate of over 155 while maintaining an average of 40.55.

Rishabh Pant continued the momentum in the warm-up match against Bangladesh. He smashed 53 off 32 balls and his knock comprised four boundaries and as many sixes. Team India will kick off their T20 World Cup journey with a match against Ireland scheduled to be played on June 5 in New York.

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