Why Rishabh Pant should still be in contention for a spot in India's 2019 World Cup squad
Rishabh Pant was taunted by the Australian Captain Tim Paine at the Boxing Day Test as he reminded Pant that he has been dropped from India’s ODI squad for their series against Australia and New Zealand, and he should instead ‘babysit’ his kids.
However, it was great to see Pant not indulging in verbals at that time with Paine and continued to focus on his batting. He showed great maturity and focus on the job at hand and gave it back only when it was required - at the time of Paine’s batting.
Moreover, he did not let the on-field shenanigans spill over to outside the field as he spent some time with Paine’s kids and took the banter in a very sporting manner.
A further reflection of his maturity was showcased again today at the Sydney test. When he came in to bat with Pujara, India were in a dominant position, but were still some way away from putting the match beyond Australia.
He controlled his natural aggressive instincts and showed remarkable application in blunting the bowling, ensuring Pujara was not stranded at one end due to a flurry of wickets at the other.
But after Pujara got dismissed, we saw what Pant is capable of. He simply decimated the Australian bowling attack in the company of Ravindra Jadeja, and in the process, became the only Indian wicket-keeper to score a century in Australia, a remarkable feat since there have been so many Indian greats who have visited the shores of Australia, including MS Dhoni.
His wicket-keeping has also seen remarkable improvement. In this series itself, he has broken the record of total dismissals in a series by a wicket-keeper, and he has two more innings in Sydney to add to that total.
Though both MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik deserve their place in the Indian ODI side, on the evidence of this test series, and the kind of 'X-factor' the 21-year-old can bring to the Indian batting, Rishabh Pant should still be in contention for a spot in the Indian squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup.