The India wicketkeeper-batsman has been in tremendous form in Test matches, his scores in the Australia Tests and later the home series against England being a testament to it.
The upcoming five-Test series between India and England will mark a full circle for Rishabh Pant, for it was three years ago during India’s 2018 tour of the UK that he made his Test debut for India. Sure, Pant had played a few T20I games prior to it, but the England Tests is where Pant’s stocks really rose. Apart from hitting a six off only the second ball in Test cricket, Pant peeled off a century playing only his third Test.
This time around though, Pant will head into the Test series with a reputation. The India wicketkeeper-batsman has been in tremendous form in Test matches, his scores in the Australia Tests and later the home series against England being a testament to it. Pant is an automatic pick in the limited-overs formats as well, but Test matches are where the youngster has really excelled.
Talking about his journey in international cricket so far, Pant, while speaking to BCCI.tv, revealed the names of four people to who he turns for advice. In batting, the two names Pant took were that of the India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma, and with a series as crucial as the one that is lined up ahead of him, the wicketkeeper-batsman revealed how his two senior teammates are there to help him out.
“All the seniors and coaching staff, like, I talk to Rohit bhai a lot. Talking about the game, previous matches, what we could have done, what we could not have done. In the future, if a similar situation happens, what are the possible outcomes, what more can we add). Virat bhaiya is there to help me out with the technical stuff, especially about playing in England, standing a bit forward or back,” Pant said.
The other two individuals Pant mentioned were coach Ravi Shastri and off-spinner R Ashwin, and for very different reasons. “Ravi bhai (head coach Ravi Shastri) is also there, I speak to him a lot because he has played enough cricket all over the world, he has the idea,” Pant added.
“Ash bhai (Ravichandran Ashwin), he always has an idea about what the batsman could do. So, when he bowls, as a batsman I can ask him what he’s thinking. So, as a player, I just want to learn from each and every person.”