IPL 2019 | Rishabh Pant a good investment for India, says Quinton de Kock

Rishabh Pant had made his IPL debut in 2016 for the Delhi Capitals, then known as Delhi Daredevils, and he had scored 198 runs at an average of nearly 25 runs. Fast forward to 2018, he had an oustanding IPL with 684 runs at a strike rate of 173, he even went on to make his Test debut in England and scored a century at The Oval.

“I have played with Rishabh before. I have seen him grow very quickly. He has a lot of power in his shots. He is a very strong boy. I think he is going to be a good investment for India,” said Quinton de Kock, reported PTI.

AB de Villiers is one of the most feared hitters in the game as he can hit shots all around the ground, which leaves a very little margin of error for the bowlers. This is evident in the fact that he has amassed nearly 4000 runs in the league since his debut in 2008, and has averaged well over 30 in all the editions, barring three. Mumbai Indians will now face Royal Challengers Bangalore in today’s match and de Kock is afraid of his compatriot.

“AB (de Villiers) being AB, he is a big wicket for them (MI Bowlers). I think if we get him out pretty early, we stand a good chance of doing well in the game. So we have spoken about it, about how we’re going to try and get him out and hopefully it comes off tomorrow. Otherwise, we just hope he makes a mistake,” shared the 26 year old.

Perennial slow starters Mumbai Indians lost the first match of their campaign this year also. The bowlers were taken to the cleaners, evident from the fact that Delhi Capitals posted 213 runs, which turned out to be too much for the MI batsmen as they were wrapped up for 176 and lost the match by 37 runs. 

“Any big tournament around the world, everybody wants to get off to a good start. Coming into this game, knowing we haven’t won a game, so it’s a big game for us tomorrow. We need to get going with a win and hopefully build some momentum, get things rolling for our campaign this year,” said de Kock.

Although the match will be played at the batting-friendly pitch of M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, the opener did not rule out the Bengaluru-based franchise’s bowling attack, which will be lead by India quick Umesh Yadav. The RCB also have reliable spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Moeen Ali in their arsenal.

“I have played against Umesh (Yadav), and a couple of their bowlers. When they are bowling well, they are really hard to get going against. They have got some good bowlers in their team that they rely on so we are just going to go out there and see what happens and hopefully just come out on top,” the explosive batsman added.

Although the opener has a great record for his national team South Africa, his stats in the cash rich league, 954 runs at an average of 28, are well below his standards and he wants to change that sooner than later.

“Playing in this tournament, no matter whom we are playing against or whom I’m playing against, you’re always quite determined to score runs whether that’s RCB, Delhi, Sunrisers whoever. I am always quite determined to contribute towards the team and just get the team over to a winning side. That’s what my goal is and what I will try and do,” he signed off.