Rishabh Pant will get his chance, but it’s up to him to grab it, says Kapil Dev

Rishabh Pant will get his chance, but it’s up to him to grab it, says Kapil Dev

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Former cricketer Kapil Dev reckons that Rishabh Pant will get his chance in India colours again but reminded that it was up to the youngster to make full use of the opportunity. Kapil also suggested that India should go back to using a specialist wicket-keeper over a makeshift option like KL Rahul.

In their just-concluded historic 5-0 T20 series-win over New Zealand, team India utilised 14 out of their 15-member squad in at least one match. The only one not to get a game was Pant, the wicket-keeper batsman who was touted to be MS Dhoni’s long-term replacement by the national selectors only months ago. Now, Pant may no longer be India’s second choice option with the gloves, as India went in with Sanju Samson in the last two matches against the Kiwis. Nevertheless, the message from India’s former India World Cup-winning captain to young Pant is that he should not be disheartened.

“Pant will get his chance but he has to make sure, he grabs that one. I would tell Pant not to get disheartened and prove people wrong by saying there’s still a lot of cricket left in him. He shouldn’t think too far ahead. His target should be the next 5-10 matches and see how he performs. There’s no shortage of talent. So if he performs, no one can stop him,” Kapil Dev told ABP News.

Pant showed glimpses of his talent with the bat in the West Indies series where he scored 71 in the first ODI, however the 23-year-old’s T20 record in India colours both as keeper and as a batsman leaves a lot to be desired. The southpaw lost his place in the side after suffering a concussion during the first ODI against Australia. And though he regained his fitness ahead of the series-decider in Bengaluru, India decided to continue with Rahul as the keeper as it gave more balance to the side. But Kapil is not convinced by this move to play an extra batsman just for the sake of team balance.

“It’s a bit odd that this situation has arrived. Dravid has done it in the past. But in today’s time, there should be a genuine wicket-keeper. The fit-in type of scenario shouldn’t happen. No need to adjust but I guess the team management must have different thinking. It is easy for us to say anything sitting outside,” Kapil added.

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