Rishabh Pant's return to action will take a while and it would still be construed as a very fast recovery if he is back on the field by January, a full one year from the near-fatal high-speed car accident that he suffered on the New Year Eve. The wicketkeeper-batter, thus, will be ruled out of the Asia Cup in September and the World Cup in October-November.

Pant was recently seen during the Delhi Capitals IPL games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium walking with the help of crutches and those close to him reveal that he will take at least a couple of weeks to walk without any help.

The general impression is that he is recovering faster than anticipated, but it will take seven to eight months to be cricket-fit. That said it could take even longer for him to do the wicketkeeping and the initial comeback period will have to be solely as a batter, which is still considered an asset.