India, June 4 -- The last two months have been among the most difficult in Rishabh Pant's cricketing career since his remarkable comeback from a life-threatening car accident. Hailed as one of India's biggest match-winners a year ago after his successful return to international cricket and impressive performances in England, Pant has had to deal with a lot across formats.

First came the disappointment of losing the Test vice-captaincy. Then, Pant was omitted from the ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan that follows the one-off Test starting here on Saturday. His struggles extended to the Indian Premier League (IPL) where his second season as captain of Lucknow Super Giants ended in frustration.

Pant's form with the bat dipped i...