Rishabh Pant unfazed by MSK Prasad’s wicket-keeping remarks
Delhi’s Ranji skipper Rishabh Pant has stated that he remains unfazed by MSK Prasad’s recent remarks on India’s wicketkeeping future. The chief selector had stated that MS Dhoni remained India’s first and best wicketkeeping option in the limited-overs at the moment, and no one could match him.
Stating that MS Dhoni’s wicket-keeping skills have been unparalleled in the limited-overs format, the chief selector also went on to say that he didn’t see any player, be it national or international, who can even come close to the former skipper. Such a strong statement by the chief selector has almost sealed the fates of young keepers like Pant and Samson, who have been in contention for the spot in the national team for quite some time especially ahead of the upcoming World Cup in 2019.Â
20-year-old Pant became a household name after his timely knock of 69 off 40 balls that helped Delhi Daredevils defeat Gujarat Lions in the 2016 IPL edition. That, followed by his heroics in the domestic tournaments, was enough to see the youngster being named in India's T20I squad for their series against England in January this year. However, the youngster has maintained that he isn’t thinking that far yet and wants to concentrate on his immediate future.
“I should not worry about all this. I don’t think about all this. My job is to perform, score as many runs as possible,” said Pant at the end of opening day's play against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy finals, as quoted by PTI.
Pant, who is currently captaining Delhi, has been going through a dry patch of late and didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations after last year’s promising performances. However, he has been backed by teammate Dhruv Shorey, who scored a century to help his team pile up a respectable total of 295 in the first innings of the ongoing Ranji final.Â
“We need to back our games. Rishabh and Himmat are natural stroke-makers, especially Rishabh. You can’t change your game immediately. Everyone has seen him play and, I don’t need to say anything. Rishabh is a brilliant stroke maker,” said Shorey.