'Wish he will recover soon': Australia star's heartfelt message for Rishabh Pant ahead of Test series in India

India and Australia face each other in the Test arena once again when the latter return to the subcontinent in February. Australia will be touring India for four Test matches, starting on February 9 in Nagpur. This will be their first Test series in India since the feisty 2016/17 Border-Gavaskar Series and they will be looking for their first series win against the hosts since 2015.

Since losing the 2016/17 series 2-1, Australia have gone on to lose twice at home to India, with the second one coming against a team that was severely depleted by the end of the series due to injuries. Moreover, talismanic captain Virat Kohli had left for home on paternity leave right after a rather disastrous defeat in the first Test.

However, a number of rather unlikely heroes emerged for India during that series, among whom was Rishabh Pant. Pant, who was under pressure in all formats due to his poor form before the series, led India to victory in the fourth Test at the Gabba with his typically aggressive batting. His Test career has only gone from strength to strength since then and he was expected to play an important role in the upcoming series but a horrific car crash has ruled him out of any cricket for much of the coming year.

Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who was Pant's teammmate at the Delhi Capitals, has said that he wishes the wicketkeeper-batter would get back to the field soon. "One player definitely missed this season badly and it is Rishabh Pant he is unfortunately not with the team. I wish he will recover soon and come back to the field," Stoinis told ANI.

Stoinis, who is not part of the Test team but is integral to the limited overs setup, said that Australia are desperate to win the series in India so as to avoid a third consecutive loss. "This time we don't want to lose the trophy. The team never wants to lose it but this could be the third time and we don't want to give up this year. Our squad is too strong and facing India on their soil is a bit difficult as we have to face spin tracks over there. India have some specialist bowlers like R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja those can bowl really well but we are also coming with some specialist spinners so you can expect a good competition this time," he added.