England vs India: Rahul Dravid heaps praise on youngster Rishabh Pant

When the Indian selectors released the list of players who’d be touring England in the five-match Test series, the uncanny Rishabh Pant was an interesting addition to the side. Having played a bevy of T20 internationals for the national side, Pant impressed quite a bit in the IPL as well for the Delhi Daredevils. Since then, he has not looked back, making his presence felt for the India ‘A’ side as well.

Rahul Dravid, the coach of the India ‘A’ team spoke in heavy praise of Pant stating that he was indeed a talented player and that he had shown his mettle in the three or four innings he had batted in. Dravid also went on to add that Pant was a player who reads the situation rather well.

“Rishabh was quite excellent on the tour. He is obviously a very talented player. He showed in three or four innings that he was willing to bat differently. We all know the way he bats. Even in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season when he got over to 900 runs his S/R was 100 plus and we have seen him bat similarly in the IPL as well,” said Dravid

“On this trip, we challenged him a lot to bat according to the situation. He got a critical 64 (not out) in the one-day final when he was the last recognized batsman and also against West Indies A when he put on a 100-run partnership with Jayant Yadav.”

‘He showed that he could bat differently’

Dravid went on to add that Pant did indeed have a tremendous temperament and knew exactly what was required of him in any given situation as well.

“He showed that he could bat differently. He has the temperament and skills to bat differently. He is always going to be an attacking player but reading of the situation when you are playing red ball cricket is required. We are glad he has been picked in the national team and I hope he takes this maturity into the national team and hopefully builds from thereon,” he concluded.

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.