Rishabh Pant Recalls "Turning Point" In Career, When He Took Painkillers To Bat

Since making his India debut in 2017 in a T20I match vs England, Rishabh Pant has been through plenty of ups and downs in his young career. From being heralded as MS Dhoni's successor and being criticized for his mistakes, to cementing his spot in the India playing XI, Pant is now being considered a future captain for the national team. Speaking to Jemimah Rodrigues on Dream11, the wicketkeeper-batter opened up about the "turning point" in his career which made him a fan-favourite and also a crucial cog in India's playing XI.

The swashbuckling batter recalled his performance in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy which India won 2-1. Pant didn't feature in the first Test match, which India lost. He featured in the second Test which India won, but he also was on the receiving end of an injury in the third fixture.

"I got my first chance in the second match where I scored 27-30 odd in both innings. Decent start for me because I was always under pressure after coming back from there, and we won the match. We made a comeback in the series", he said.

"Third match we went there. We were under pressure; they gave us some 400 something. Injury happened in the first innings. He bowled a bouncer, it kept low and it hit my elbow and I was unable to move my hand in the first innings. I didn't keep in the second innings. Wriddhi bhai did all the keeping."

"We went for a scan and it was a bone bruise. It wasn't a major injury, but it was very painful. We were talking to the physios because I had to bat, by hook or by crook. So, we decided to take injection to help with the pain. We have to see in the nets obviously, at first. So, I took the painkiller injection during the game, went to the nets and I was trying to hold the bat but it