[Watch] Rishabh Pant hoists the Indian flag on Independence Day

Team India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant hoisted the Indian flag on Thursday, August 15, celebrating the nation's 78th Independence Day. He is currently on a break from the field after a couple of hectic months of cricketing action. Rishabh made a comeback after a year-long injury hiatus during IPL 2024 in March and then played in the T20 World Cup.

He was part of the Indian playing XI, which lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup Trophy on June 29 by beating South Africa in the final. Pant then participated in the 3-match T20I series and played an ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

During his time away from the sport, Rishabh Pant took part in Independence Day celebrations with fans. He gave a glimpse of it by sharing a video on his official Instagram handle with the caption:

"HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL. JAI HIND."🇮🇳

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Rishabh Pant will return to red-ball cricket with the upcoming Duleep Trophy

Rishabh Pant is all set to make his much-awaited comeback in the longest format of cricket during the upcoming Duleep Trophy. His last Test appearance came in December 2022 against Bangladesh. The Southpaw will be eager to get back into the groove in red-ball cricket in the Duleep Trophy ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which commences on September 19.

Rishabh is part of Team B in the domestic tournament, captained by Abhimanyu Easwaran. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra analyzed the decision of the selectors not appointing Rishabh Pant as captain in the Duleep Trophy in his YouTube video and said:

"Rishabh Pant is not a captain. He has been selected in Abhimanyu Easwaran's team. He is playing under Abhimanyu Easwaran's captaincy, which is absolutely okay."

"However, is Rishabh not even a candidate for Test captaincy? I am a little surprised. Pant is not a captain. He is playing under Abhimanyu Easwaran's captaincy, which is absolutely okay. However, is Rishabh not even a candidate for Test captaincy? I am a little surprised."

Elaborating his point, Chopra continued:

"Who else has done that? No one has. The way he plays in Test cricket and scores runs consistently, personally, in my opinion, he was a captaincy candidate. However, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and even Abhimanyu Easwaran are captains but Pant is not a captain, and that is a huge takeaway in my opinion."

Do you agree with Aakash Chopra's views above? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.