Star batter becomes second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to get nominated for Laureus World Sports Award

Star Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has become only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to be nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Award. The annual ceremony honors the world's greatest athletes who have inspired people with their sporting achievements.

Pant is one of the nominees for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award. Along with him, gymnast Rebeca Andrade, ski racer Lara Gut-Behrami, swimmers Ariarne Titmus and Caeleb Dressel, and MotoGP legend Marc Márquez have been nominated in the same category.

Notably, the 27-year-old made a remarkable comeback to the cricket field after a near-fatal accident in December 2022. The southpaw made his return as the captain of the Delhi Capitals in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He returned as the team's top scorer with 446 runs in 13 innings.

Thereafter, Rishabh Pant served as Men in Blue's wicket-keeper, as they went on to clinch the 2024 T20 World Cup title.

Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award (2000-2020) for his iconic victory lap after India's 2011 World Cup victory in Mumbai. The moment saw Tendulkar being lifted on the shoulders by his teammates, which got the maximum number of public votes.

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Indian keeper Rishabh Pant reflects on his Laureus World Sports Award nomination

Rishabh Pant expressed his gratitude of recovering from a serious accident and making a comeback to the cricket field. As per Pant, positive attitude and self-belief play a key role in helping an individual recover from such setbacks.

In his official statement after being nominated for the award, he said:

“I have always believed that the biggest virtue of life is to be grateful for everything God has blessed you with. Over the course of my life, I have focused on being positive and happy in every situation, trusting the power of self-belief and resilience to deal with every challenge.

“When I survived the near-fatal car crash, I realised that I have been fortunate to be a blessed soul, which inspired me to work extremely hard to undo everything and return to the pitch as a better version of myself with greater motivation."

He added:

“I knew that my return to normal life was only half the circle of my comeback and I needed to complete the circle by being committed towards my dream of playing for India again. In 2024, I returned to play for the Indian Test team 629 days after the car crash, the year where we also won the ICC T20 World Cup.”