India call up is not in my hands: Rishabh Pant

Delhi batsman Rishabh Pant has been on a roll this domestic season. The 19-year old wicket-keeper batsman rose to prominence when he was a part of the India U19 team earlier this year. He scored the fastest fifty at the U19 level. Soon, he saw himself drafted into the Delhi Daredevils team for the IPL. He rubbed shoulders with the big boys and tormented the likes of Mustafizur Rahman in the line-up.

The best was yet to come, though. In the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy, Rishabh Pant has been in scintillating form. He kickstarted the season with a ton against Assam. A prolific triple ton followed in the game against Maharashtra. Things became even better when he notched up the fastest hundred in Ranji Trophy.

There were talks about him making the cut in the national team soon. However, he was not named as the replacement to Wriddhiman Saha in the Indian team recently. In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, he mentioned that he will surely be ready once he gets the call-up.

He added that he can only perform and the selection is not in hands. “But when it comes, I will be ready. If it, unfortunately, does not, I will concentrate on Ranji trophy and the rest of the season. The call-up is not in my hands,” said Rishabh Pant.

Pant credited a lot of success to Rahul Dravid. Dravid was the coach of the India U19 team that Rishabh Pant was a part of. Talking about Dravid’s influence, he said, “Rahul sir taught me how to live a disciplined life. He told me how to maintain consistency in top-level cricket. He also discussed with me things I can pick up from different cricketers. He has been an inspiration.”

Pant also spoke about another batting legend. He reflected back at how Virender Sehwag has been a big influence on his short career thus far. He regrets not being able to play alongside Sehwag. “It is a regret that I could not play with Viru Pa (Virender Sehwag) , but then again you learn to move over these things and concentrate on the job at your hand,” said the wicket-keeper batsman.

He revealed how Sehwag always asked him to stick to the natural game and not curb the instincts. “Viru Pa used to tell me how to play cricket on your own terms. Like, play with my natural aggression. He never told me to curb my instincts,” he added.

His Ranji team, Delhi, has produced the likes of Virat Kohli. Rishabh Pant wants to follow the Indian Test skipper. He remarked that despite not having many interactions with him, he still tries to pick a lot from Kohli’s batting.

“With Kohli, I have watched him bat and you try and emulate his consistency. Though I haven’t had many conversations with him, I have tried to pick up things from him when he bats. Like his feet movement, the way he watches the ball closely, his still head. He is so consistent at the international level so why can’t we be consistent here is a question I ask myself,” quoted the 19-year old.

Going back to the past to remember how things started for him, the Delhi batsman said that it all started in the first grade. He fell in love with the sport at a bare age of 7.

“It was a game I played from my childhood. As far as I can remember from class one I. My father wanted me to play cricket actually and I continued doing so. Later, I fell in love with the sport. I used to play all kinds of sports but my interest in cricket was huge,” conceded Pant.