India’s young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been in outstanding form since the Australia tour. He continued his dream with the bat in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against England, scoring 77 runs off 40 balls in the second game and then adding 78 runs off 62 balls in the series-decider. His contributions helped India in sealing the series 3-2.
Reacting to the same, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has lavished praises on Pant and added that the southpaw reminds him of his early days.
“The biggest positive that has come out of the series is Rishabh Pant,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“Because when he comes to bat in the middle overs in the ODIs, and the 2nd powerplay comes up, he uses it perfectly.
“I feel it is important for him to stay in this team, he has quite a positive mindset. He reminds me of my early days. He doesn’t think much what others are saying, he just goes out to bat,” Sehwag added.
However, Viru feels Pant could become the next superstar in white-ball cricket only if he starts taking responsibility and converts his 70s-80s into a hundred.
“But only if he learns how to bat for full 50 overs, and bats till the end, and learns to convert the 70s-80s into 100s, he could be the next superstar for India. The wicket was very good, the ground was short. Sometimes, you will get slow wickets, and you will not be able to hit your shots. How he gets out of those situations is very important to know, so he must know that,” Sehwag said.
“In the IPL, when he was not able to score runs, he must have changed something which was why he was able to score runs in Tests. But in ODIs, and in T20Is, if he learns to bat till the end, and make the most of my abilities, then he can be the next superstar in white-ball cricket,” the Nawab of Najafgarh signed off.
Pant will next be seen leading Delhi Capitals (DC) in the upcoming IPL. He has been named DC captain in the absence of their regular-skipper Shreyas Iyer, who suffered an injury in his left shoulder while fielding during the first ODI in Pune.