Kapil Dev feels it is Rishabh Pant's job to score runs and prove people wrong
What's the story?
World Cup-winning Indian captain Kapil Dev has opined that Rishabh Pant cannot blame anybody for losing his place in the Indian Cricket Team. As per the legendary all-rounder, the players should look after themselves and they should give the selectors an option to drop them or give them a rest.
The background
Although he did not make much impact with the bat, Rishabh Pant kept his place in the team as he possessed a rare talent. He is one of the few Indian players who can strike the ball right from the word go. The team management backed him as the team’s number one wicket-keeper for a long time but a string of poor performances meant that the pressure on him kept increasing.
In the first ODI match against Australia, Pant suffered a concussion courtesy of a deadly bouncer from Pat Cummins and was ruled out of the second game. KL Rahul took over the wicket-keeping responsibilities of the team in Pant’s absence and the right-handed batsman provided the perfect balance to the team combination, prompting Virat Kohli and co. to continue with him as their keeper despite the southpaw being available.
The heart of the matter
Talking to PTI on Sunday (26th January), Kapil reflected his views on the wicket-keeping dilemma prevailing in the Indian team and said:
“Pant is so talented. He cannot blame anybody. He has to look after his own career. The only way for him is to keep on getting runs and prove everybody wrong. When you are talented, it is your job to prove people wrong. The players have to look after themselves. They should never give the option to the selectors to drop them or give them a rest.”
When asked about his choice between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, The Haryana Hurricane replied that it is the team management’s call and he does not have a clear idea about those things.
The former Indian all-rounder also touched on the issues of fitness and voiced out his mind over the tight schedule of the Indian pacers as well as the nation’s premier all-rounder, Hardik Pandya. He signed off with the following statement:
“When you play 10 months in a year, you will get injured. You have to look after the fast bowlers. The conditions and weather in India is more challenging than other parts of the world. The team management will have to take care of them. Pandya has to be worried. He should be worried about how fast he can get fit and come back into the team. That’s important. He has to look after himself.”
What’s next?
The second T20I between New Zealand and India will take place today. It will be interesting to see if Rishabh Pant gets one more chance to prove his talent.