Rishabh Pant has every shot in the book, states Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan says Rishabh Pant is hard to bowl to
|Rashid Khan has recalled the first instance when he met Rishabh Pant on the cricket field and hailed the Indian batsman as someone who can play every shot in the book. The Afghan spinner remembered that Pant had the bowlers completely bamboozled during an Under-19 tri-series in 2015.
According to Afghanistan ace spinner Rashid Khan, Indian contemporary Rishabh Pant has every shot in the book, and it's difficult to restrain him when he is on song. In an Instagram chat with Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan recalled the time when he had first faced Pant, in an Under-19 tri-series in 2015 at Jadavpur University, when the Indian batsman had the bowlers all bamboozled with his explosive batting. The match was held in Kolkata ahead of Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2016.
"He hit three sixes in a row and in the fourth ball, he mistimed but only to be dropped at short midwicket. Our bowler looked helpless and put his hands on his head, yelling in Pashto, 'now what do I do to get him out?' He has every shot in the book and is one batsman who is very tough to bowl to. I remember bowling to him at a ground in Kolkata in the U-19 Tri-series," Rashid recalled.
It was in 2017, when the Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Rashid Khan ahead of the 10th IPL edition, that the legspinner became the first Afghan player to participate in the marquee T20 league. Having had a successful IPL career so far, Rashid, however, revealed that he never enjoyed bowling at the small ground of M Chinnaswamy Stadium which is a batting paradise.
"When I come to Bangalore, I have so many things in my mind. Hopefully, I get a spin-friendly wicket (as the ground is small). It's difficult for me to bowl in Bangalore," he added.
