Rishabh Pant has been the talk of the town since India’s tour of Australia in last 2018. While his sledging was top notch during the Test matches, he showed his caliber with the bat during the fourth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in January 2019. His heroics in the Test cricket raised the chants for his inclusion in the ODI team as well.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is nearing and every player is giving their best to be on the flight to England. Rishabh Pant is no exception. He has the back of several former players and cricket experts for his inclusion in the WC squad. Thus, he was given chances in the last two One-Day International matches against Australia. But he spilled those chances first with poor batting and then by making some mistakes behind the wickets.
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During the Mohali ODI, Pant gave a reprieve to Ashton Turner and it changed the course of the match in Australia’s favor. The crowd of Mohali didn’t come easy at Pant and booed him by chanting Dhoni Dhoni in the stands.
However, the young wicketkeeper is not affected by all this and said he will not be thinking about it. He urged the critics to not compare him with great Dhoni as he is still on the learning curve of his career.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Pant said “I’m not thinking about the comparison too much. As a player, I want to learn from him (Dhoni). He’s a legend of the game. I don’t want people to compare but I can’t stop them from doing so. I’m close to him and talk to him about everything how I can improve my game on and off the field.”
He also talked about how his mindset was during the Australia tour and how much they wanted to win the series there. Replying to Bishan Singh Bedi’s accusations of complacency and wild attitude, Pant said he’s not perfect but will strive hard to learn every day.
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He further quoted “I’m not saying I’m perfect. I want to learn and keep improving every day. When I went there (Australia), I had something inside, wanted to win a series outside India. Every team member was thinking that we have to do something different and make our team win the series. Every time we go out on to the field, we only think of winning the game. That’s the only thing we are focusing.”
He will play for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League 2019, which will commence from March 23 in Chennai. His chances to get picked for the World Cup are hanging on knife’s edge and his form in the IPL will matter a lot for his contention.
