Former England captain Nasser Hussain is hopeful of a successful return of “box office” cricketer Rishabh Pant in 2024 following his recovery from the near-fatal car crash in December 2022.

It was on a fateful night when Pant suffered a horrific car accident. The wicketkeeper-batter has made strong progress since then and is likely to return to cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States.

“You follow on social media, on my phone and the initial first walking steps to then scenes in the gym and then scenes of him (Pant) playing a bit of cricket, scenes of him with Ricky (Ponting). I travelled with Ricky in the summer in the (2023) Ashes, and Ricky was texting him, ‘How’s the progress coming along?’ And he’s a box office cricketer,” Hussain told the ICC.

Following Pant’s absence, KL Rahul has filled in to his shoes and produced a good show at the recent ODI World Cup, amassing 452 runs at an average of 75.33. “India are lucky to have both of them. But Pant, before his injury, was box office and hopefully after his injury, will be box office as well,” Hussain stated.

Written with PTI inputs