India, April 16 -- In a world where even yesterday seems a million miles in the past, 22 months is more than a lifetime, so it's sometimes easy to forget that when India won the T20 World Cup after a 17-year drought in Bridgetown in June 2024, Rishabh Pant was the man standing behind the stumps, donning the wicketkeeping gloves, orchestrating the match-turning dismissal of the marauding Heinrich Klaasen with a classic piece of Pant gamesmanship in the title clash.

The effervescent left-hander started the tournament brightly on the dodgy pitches at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, looking India's best batter during hard-earned victories against Ireland (36 not out) and Pakistan (42 off 31 out of 119) respective...