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Can Rishabh Pant Be Fit in Time to Play the T20 World Cup 2026? 28-YO Faces Race Against Time

MENSXP | October 8, 2025 9:39 PM CST

Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant injured his foot badly when the ball hit him there during the opening day of the fourth Test against England in Manchester. He retired hurt and did come out to bat the next day but his role for the rest of the game and series were done. Pant went on to miss the Asia Cup 2025 and is out of the Tests vs West Indies. He will also miss the ODI and T20I series in Australia.

Will Rishabh Pant Play in the T20 World Cup 2026?

Now the question on everyone’s mind is if Pant will be fit in time to play for India in the T20 World Cup 2026? The tournament is roughly four months away and Pant has been out of action for two-and-a-half months. But there is a chance he could return for the second round of the Ranji Trophy that begins on October 25. That may pave the way for him into the side for the Test series vs South Africa that begins on November 14.

Rishabh Pant on Comeback Trail

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar had also hinted that Pant would be back for the South Africa Tests when the Test squad for West Indies was announced. It is understood that Pant is towards the end of his rehabilitation. The foot was taken out of the cast three weeks back and according to ESPNCricinfo, the 28-year-old will undergo a fitness assessment at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru later in the week.

Should he be cleared, that will open the doors to the Delhi squad. Delhi begin the Ranji Trophy campaign on October 15. In Pant’s absence, Dhruv Jurel has kept wickets in Tests while Sanju Samson did the same in T20Is. In other words, Pant not only has to prove his fitness, he must also be consistent that the selectors consider him for the T20 World Cup 2026.

Rishabh Pant Making Up for Lost Time

Pant was an integral part of the team when India won the T20 World Cup in 2024. At 28, he has years of cricket ahead of him and this injury is a mere setback. But the race against time is real and Pant has to ensure he is on the selectors’ radar when the squad is picked for the next T20 World Cup. Pant already lost over a year in international cricket when he was recovering from a car accident which he was really lucky to survive. After December 2022, Pant’s next game for India was in June 2024. He missed out on the ODI World Cup in 2023.

The T20I Numbers of Rishabh Pant

Pant’s T20I numbers see him scoring 1209 runs from 66 innings in 76 games with 14 not-outs. He has a top score of 65 not out, an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 127.40. The southpaw has also made three fifties. If he makes it to the T20 World Cup then it is good for India. Fans, players, team management and cricket lovers will all hope that the left-handed keeper-batter dons the gloves and wields the willow in the T20 World Cup 2026.