India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is set to make the much-awaited return to competitive cricket in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after missing the action for more than a year due to life-threatening injuries suffered in a fatal car crash.

The youngster will lead Delhi Capitals in the tournament which is set to begin on March 22.

Pant is still undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to attain full match fitness before the start of the marquee competition. He is set to play more practice matches before taking centre stage in the league.

Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had confirmed that Pant will play the entire tournament but for the first phase, he will only captain and bat for the side. The decision on his wicketkeeping duty will be taken later in the tournament after observing how his body will respond to the workload.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that things will be different for Pant on his comeback after multiple knee surgeries and he will take time to match his previous batting fluency.

"Knee plays a pivotal role in batting as well as 'keeping, which of course he may not do initially. Maybe he won't be the usual Rishabh Pant that we are used to seeing," Gavaskar said on a show on Star Sports.

"I'm also a big fan of him. For me the most important thing is he should be healthy like before, so that he can come and entertain us. It will be very difficult for him and it will take some time for him to get that batting fluency. But good that he has started training," he added.