Yuvraj Singh's Birthday Message to Rishabh Pant Sparks Online Frenzy with Unseen Photos

The ex-Indian all-rounder created a brief video showcasing Pant's entertaining moments on the cricket field, which featured him assisting Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto with field placements, executing a backflip, and showing off his dance skills. The most intriguing part of the video was the never-before-seen pictures of Pant during his early cricket days.

Yuvraj hailed Pant's "fearless" attitude and called him "the comeback king". "Happy Birthday to the comeback king @rishabpant work hard and stay your fearless self! Hope the year ahead is one of fulfilment. God bless always," Yuvraj wrote.

A post shared by Yuvraj Singh (@yuvisofficial)

Pant also got wishes from former India captain and the current Delhi Capitals (the franchise Pant leads in the IPL) director of cricket Sourav Ganguly. "Wish Rishabh Pant a very happy birthday ..god bless him with a long and healthy life," he wrote.

ICC chair and the BCCI secretary Jay Shah called Pant's comeback to cricket inspirational. "Happy Birthday to our wicketkeeper batter, @RishabhPant17. Your journey and comeback has been an inspiration for many. Hope you keep making key contributions to the Indian team’s success in the future as well," he wrote.

Pant suffered multiple injuries in a horrifying car crash on December 30 2022. He had to undergo multiple surgeries and could not walk without the help of crutches for months. He missed IPL 2023, the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup at home. The recovery process was long and tiring. But Pant did not lose hope. He showed miraculous courage, strength and determination to regain his fitness.

The doctors were amazed that Pant not only recovered but got match-ready by IPL 2024. He erased all doubts about his fitness by taking the dual role of a keeper and captain for the Delhi Capitals in the entire tournament. He was named in India's T20 World Cup squad and given the role of batting at No.3, where he performed quite well in the initial stage of the tournament on difficult tracks in the USA.

He made his ODI comeback against Sri Lanka in July and played his first Test match after 21 months in the series against Bangladesh. This was after he had proven his fitness for red-ball matches in the Duleep Trophy. Pant celebrated his return to Test cricket, a format in which he has had the most success as a batter so far, with a century in Chennai, equalling MS Dhoni's record for most Test hundreds (6) by an Indian keeper-batter.

At 27, Pant has already become one of the biggest stars of Indian cricket. He already has Test centuries in Australia, England (2), and South Africa, something which many top-order Indian batters still dream of.

After non-stop cricket since the IPL, Pant was given a breather from the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. He is likely to return to action for the home Test series against New Zealand.