Matter of great pride to play for India: Rishabh Pant

Delhi youngster Rishabh Pant has made giant strides in the world of cricket in the recent times. Pant first came to the limelight during the ICC U19 World Cup last year. He hit a record fastest fifty then. Soon, he found himself plundering runs for his Ranji side Delhi this season. With over 950 runs in the edition and a top score of 308, he was absolutely unstoppable this season. No wonder why he was rightly rewarded with the national call for the T20 series against England later this month.

As per the quotes in thefield.scroll.in, Rishabh Pant spoke at length about his plans ahead and the way things have shaped up for him in the recent past. When asked about his first reactions on being selected for team India, Pant said he felt very elated. Every cricketer wishes to play for the national side, he quoted.

“I was extremely elated. Each cricketer wants to play for the country and I’m no exception. I was playing the DY Patil T20 Cup when I got to know about my selection from teammates,” quoted the 19-year old wicketkeeper.

Earlier, during the England series, the injury of Wriddhiman Saha had opened the gates for a new wicketkeeper in the team. Pant had to miss out as Parthiv Patel was preferred by the selectors as the replacement. Speaking about this incident, he said that the selection is not in his hands. All that he can do is perform well in the domestic season.

“My job is to play good cricket and leave everything else to [the] selectors. 2016-’17 was my first Ranji season and perhaps [the] selectors thought that I need more experience before being drafted into the Test team,” quoted Pant.

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Rishabh Pant plies his trade for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. During the previous edition of the IPL, he hit a match-winning knock against Gujarat Lions. During the course of the tournament, he shared a great friendship with South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Both players are of the same mold and deal in the same trade and skill sets.

Describing his experience of sharing the dressing room with QDK, Pant said, “Quinny is a world-class batsman and wicketkeeper. I really enjoyed batting with him. In that match against Gujarat Lions, I was in my element and was batting really well, so he took a backseat and allowed me to dominate bowlers. He told me to play my natural game and take on the bowlers.”

In the IPL, Pant played as the specialist batsman in the side as QDK kept wickets for Delhi Daredevils. There is a good chance that he might well have to play as a specialist batsman in the team some day soon. Commenting on this, he said there is no preference when it comes to the national team.

“It’s a matter of great pride to play for the country. I just want to represent my country at an international level, even if I’m the 12th man in the team. There’s no preference,” said Rishabh Pant.

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During the Ranji Trophy this season, he hit a brilliant triple ton against Maharashtra. The knock came after Delhi had conceded in excess of 600 runs in the first innings. Pant said that his agenda was to bat after having been on the field for so long.

“Bas ye tha ki do din bahut fielding ki hai; ab do din batting karni hai kaise bhi karke. Bas. (Just that after fielding for two days, I must somehow bat for two days. That’s it),” he mentioned.

He also revealed that he reveres Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni. Among the batsmen, he absolutely loves to watch Virat Kohli in action. “Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni. Both have performed exceptionally well over a long period of time with positive intent. At present, I’m very fond of Virat Kohli,” conceded Pant.