India’s deputy skipper in limited-overs, Rohit Sharma on Wednesday asked the media not to put pressure on the young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and said he will be producing match-winning knocks for India if he is left alone. Pant, who often finds himself under immense scrutiny, has turned his fortunes around with some match-winning performances against both Australia and England in recent months.
During a virtual press conference ahead of the T20I series against England, Rohit Sharma said Pant can keep delivering more of the same if he is allowed to be himself. While asserting that Pant can only get better from here, Rohit concluded by posing a question back to the media.
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When asked about Pant, Rohit Sharma asked back, “We leave him alone and we allow him to play with freedom, and as the team management, we are prepared to do that. And I am going to ask you the same question, are you prepared to do the same?”
Here is the video of the same:
️💬 "Let Rishabh Pant be & he will perform well" @RishabhPant17 will only grow from strength to strength, believes @ImRo45 💪#TeamIndia #INDvENG @Paytm pic.twitter.com/lL2Z0dKr7o
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 10, 2021
Sharma further elaborated, “Let Rishabh Pant be Rishabh Pant and he will come out and give you those performances. I’ve said it in the past many a time that leave Rishabh Pant alone and he’ll give you those performances. He can only go from strength to strength. There is no looking back for him. So far he has done exceptionally well from Australia to the home series against England recently, he’s performed really well.”
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He also added, “I don’t see anything stopping unless you guys (the media) stop putting pressure on him. The good thing about his game right now is he is starting to understand the game situation, and playing according to what the situation needs, which is good, as it is something that can tick off his personal box.”
Pant’s recent form in the longest format of the game has seen him earn a recall to the T20I side. India and England will begin their five-match series on Friday.
