Where’s the No. 17? Rishabh Pant wears iconic jersey number during India A vs South Africa A

Rishabh Pant on Thursday surprised everyone when he walked out for the toss in the India A versus South Africa A match at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, wearing Virat Kohli’s iconic jersey No. 18.

Virat, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, played with jersey No. 18 on his back. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has always donned jersey No. 17.

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!




Pant won the toss and put South Africa A in to bat.

At the lunch break, the visitors were 108 for 1, with Jordan Hermann (42 not out) and Zubayr Hamza (56 not out) putting on a 102-run stand for the second wicket.

The lone wicket for India was picked up by Anshul Kamboj.

Pant is returning after a three-month absence due to a foot injury he sustained in July in England, and the 28-year-old is now aiming to make a comeback to the national fold during the two-match Test series against the Proteas.

“Rishabh looks fantastic — actually, maybe fitter, I would say. He had some time to build and put that training into his legs because sometimes when you get injured, you have that specific time to work on whatever you want. I feel he looks a bit more fit and strong, and as courageous as he always is,” said Sudharsan after India A’s training session.



The Tamil Nadu batter said Pant was his characteristic bubbly self during the training session at the BCCI CoE and had exhorted the team to use the matches to get back their red-ball rhythm.

“The message from Pant is very clear. We were in a huddle on the first day of training, and he said that this is a great opportunity for everybody to get back the rhythm of the game. At the same time, we are also playing to win, and that is the main thing,” he noted.
Catch Lovlina Borgohain's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 5. Watch Here