Rishabh Pant is the toughest batsman I've bowled to in IPL: Dhawal Kulkarni

Ever since breaking into the national side, Rishabh Pant has always been assigned the daunting task of stepping into MS Dhoni’s shoes. The 22-year-old Delhi lad came into the picture after his explosive batting in the 2016 U19 World Cup. Pant eventually paved his way to donning the Indian jersey in all formats.

However, things turned sour for Pant due to his consistency. The southpaw was constantly criticized for lack of consistency in his batting. Considering a lack of experience, Pant was often dismissed while playing a ruthless or an irresponsible shot. To top it off, Pant also started receiving stick for his poor glovework after missing a few catches.

Fans lashed out at Pant after he dropped three easy catches and tough one during the third ODI against West Indies in Cuttack. To plunge more misery on Pant, KL Rahul rose to the occasion and started delivering impressive performances with the gloves and the bat. Many fans believe that it will be a tough task for Pant to cement his place in the side with KL Rahul in contention.

However, no one can deny that the youngster one of the brightest prospects across Indian circuit. Dhawal Kulkarni, during an Instagram live session with CricTracker, also echoed the same. According to Kulkarni, Pant is the toughest batsmen that he has bowled to in the IPL.

“Rishabh Pant is the toughest batsman I’ve bowled to in IPL… He is an aggressive batsman and has a variety of shots,” said Kulkarni, who has donned the Indian jersey in 12 ODIs and two T20Is. Kulkarni was traded to Mumbai Indians by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2020.

Rishabh Pant has been a vital part of Delhi Capitals

With his aggression and range of shot, Pant can wreak havoc on any bowling force. He has also delivered many impressive knocks in the IPL and his record proves his calibre. In the 54 matches that Pant has played across all editions of IPL so far, he has scored 1736 runs at a blistering strike rate of 162.69.

Pant was one of the three players retained by Delhi ahead of the 2018 auction and he proved his worth by playing a pivotal role in the franchise’s success.

Meanwhile, Pant’s last appearance for India came against New Zealand in the Christchurch Test in February where he failed to dazzle with the bat. Taking the age factor into consideration, 22-year-old Pant has still a long way to go in international cricket.