Updated on: Oct 29, 2025 05:34 pm IST
Sai Sudharsan shared an encouraging update on Rishabh Pant’s fitness ahead of the South Africa A series.
India’s young batting star Sai Sudharsan has shared a positive update on Rishabh Pant’s fitness ahead of his much-anticipated return to competitive cricket. Pant is set to lead India A in the upcoming two-match four-day series against South Africa A, marking his comeback after nearly three months out with a foot injury suffered during the England tour.
The selectors and team management will closely monitor Pant during the India A matches to assess his match fitness ahead of the two-match Test series against South Africa at home.
Sudharsan shared an encouraging update on Pant’s fitness ahead of the South Africa A series, saying the India A skipper looks stronger and sharper than before, crediting his recovery period for helping him rebuild physically and return with even greater confidence and determination.
“Rishabh looks fantastic, actually, may be fitter I would say. He had some time to build, put that training in his legs because sometimes when you get injured you have that specific time to work on whatever you want. I feel he looks a bit more fit and strong and as courageous as always he is,” said Sudharsan after India A’s training session.
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Pant had missed the home Test series against the West Indies in this interim. He has been practising at the CoE, and will be eager to spend some quality time on the field in a real match situation, unless the persistent rain in this part plays spoilsport. The 28-year-old might be replacing Dhruv Jurel, who did an excellent job against the Windies, as the wicketkeeper batter against the Proteas.
“Message from Pant is very clear…”: Sudharsan
The Tamil Nadu batter mentioned that Pant was back to his usual cheerful, energetic self during training at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. He added that the wicketkeeper-batter urged his teammates to make the most of the upcoming games to regain their red-ball rhythm and match sharpness.
“The message from Pant is very clear. We were in a huddle on the first day of training and he was saying that this is a great opportunity for everybody to again get the rhythm of the game. At the same time, we are also playing to win and that is the main thing,” he noted.
