20-years old young Rishabh Pant has impressed very much through his small cricketing journey and experts believe that he is the bright successor of Indian wicket-keeper MS Dhoni. Pant recently led his domestic side Delhi in most of Ranji matches, which he felt too pressure and he is not interested to take the captaincy again at least for the next five years.
The first time, Rishabh Pant had led the Delhi side in the 2016/17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the 2017/18 Ranji Trophy, Pant led most of the Delhi matches including the all knockout stage matches. Under his captaincy, Delhi finished as a runner-up in this season Ranji Trophy.
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Talking about the captaincy in the recent talk with The Indian Express, Pant revealed that it was the too pressurizing situation for him. The 20-years old wicket-keeper said, “Captaining a team like Delhi is full of pressure. Now I won’t do it, at least for the next five years. For me, it’s important now to keep my focus. I will give more than 100 per cent. I want to concentrate more on my performance.”
When he was asked the reason for that pressure, Pant pointed out that there were so many expectations. Pant added, “I don’t want to take too much pressure on myself at this juncture. I want to focus more on my game. I want to contribute more to my team, I can do all these things without being captain. In my state, we have senior players like Ishant (Sharma) bhaiyya and Gauti bhaiyya (Gautam Gambhir). They are there to do captaincy, I don’t think I’m needed for this task at this moment.”
Pant made debut in the international cricket in the last year through the T20I. Till the date, Pant has played only two T20I matches. Pant is selected for the upcoming T20I tri-nation series Nidahas Trophy.
When Pant was asked will the tri-series be make-or-break for him, He replied, “You can’t say make-or-break for me, I’m just 20 years old. I will try to grab the opportunity. I want to contribute in a winning cause. If I think on these lines, how will I perform?”
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Pant was also in the last year ODI squad when India had toured to the West Indies. However, he had not got any chance in that ODI series, but he has played a T20I in that tour.
Talking about his experience in the Indian dressing room, Pant said, “One thing I learnt, which is the most important thing, is everyone is professional. They know their schedule and they know how to contribute to the team’s success. What is their role in the team. How can I help others. The Indian team is like one family. I went there twice but never felt that I am going to the Indian team for first time. The players are so nice, you get lot of support. They will tell what wrong you are doing, they will teach the right things. Any player will grow in that environment. I enjoyed a lot.”
When Pant was questioned that was his batting temperament an issue or not, Pant blamed media by quoting, “These are made up by media. What is wrong in playing an attacking shot to a bad ball? Media said I don’t keep wickets well, selectors say I am ok. What I have learned from all the bhaiyyas is to keep your focus, give your best on the field and not to think about the world outside.”
