Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant has said that he channelled his focus on becoming the best player in the franchise during his earlier days with them. However, the franchise bought him in 2016, on the back of his exploits at the ICC U-19 World Cup as well. He smashed 198 runs across 10 matches in his debut season. He then amassed 684 runs at a strike rate of 173.6, he was adjudged the Emerging Player of the Year as well.
Pant added: “When I came to the IPL setup, we had gun fast bowlers like Pat Cummins, Shami, Rabada and Coulter-Nile. I told myself if I can play these prime international bowlers, I will get confidence. All these things have helped me reach the place where I am today. I added all the learning to my game but I never wanted to change my style of play.”
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Rishabh Pant is one of the players who had to bear the brunt because of the expectations. Coming into the Indian team as MS Dhoni’s replacement, expectations were high on his shoulders right from the beginning. He also opened up on the challenges that he faces as a player and as a captain. Notably, Delhi will begin their campaign against the Mumbai Indians on March 27 at the Brabourne Stadium as well.
“It’s an honour for me. If people are expecting things from me, that means I am doing something good in life. It’s a challenge to not focus on the expectations. When you become a captain then it’s not about yourself. You have to see how new people are gelling with the team, if they are comfortable. You have to learn from different people and share your knowledge with everyone,” Rishabh Pant again shared.
He also believes that he does not have the ability to transform any player in one season of the league. He also opined the need for balance in his role as captain. He also shared that his priority is to win the IPL title.
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“There has to be a balance. It doesn’t mean I have to be serious all the time just because I have become a captain. But you also have to have serious conversations. There’s a difference between changing and improving. For example, fitness is important but you can’t only be thinking about fitness. My priority is to win the IPL. I can’t change a person in two months. You can provide him an environment to improve but can’t turn someone into a superhero in two months. You can’t force things on people. But you need to get a person on the same frequency as yours. I am just trying to trust the process which we have created here at Capitals in a few years.”
“It’s more about confidence and doing the same thing again and again. When you come to international cricket, people form their own opinions. People had already decided in their minds that ‘yaar, yeh keeping aise hi karta hai (he keeps only this way). ‘Every ‘keeper will drop chances once or twice. If you can soak that pressure in, you can rise to a different level. It shows in my performance now,” Rishabh Pant concluded.
