NEWS
Follow UsRishabh Pant’s high-risk high-reward approach has given the Indian fans plenty of joy in the recent years but when it doesn’t come off, it has also endured a huge pain. In the second Test against South Africa at the Wanderers, the southpaw tried to waltz his way into making a huge score.
But unfortunately, his knock and stay at the crease was ended abruptly when he was caught behind the wicket trying to attempt a glorious drive on the front-foot. Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar was highly critical of the left-hander, calling his shot-selection ‘nonsense’.
In the pre-match press conference, Indian skipper Virat Kohli affirmed that Pant will learn from his mistakes and the management has already initiated conversations with the young batter over his approach at the crease.
“We have had conversations with Rishabh Pant, the batter himself knows that they haven’t played the right shot according to the situation. Every individual should be in space to accept their mistakes and learn from that and it has happened to all of us in the past,” Kohli stated in the press conference.
“It is important to understand the decision-making. Only when we realize our mistakes, we can be better. MS Dhoni advised me that there should be at least 7-8 months gap between two mistakes,” he added.
The Indian skipper also praised the left-hander, stating that he has already started reflecting on his mistakes and will play important knocks for the national team in such situations in the future.
“It will only happen when you reflect on your mistakes. Rishabh does that, he will improve on that and definitely will play an important knock for India under such situations in the future.”
On Ravindra Jadeja’s absence, Kohli praised the all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin for stepping up with invaluable contributions for the Men in the Blue. Kohli insisted that Ashwin has not just bowled well but also has contributed to the side with the bat, improving his game leaps and bounds.
“Jadeja’s value is well-known, I think Ashwin has been playing that role very well for us, the way he has batted and the way he bowled in the second innings, I think that is an outstanding contribution. Ash knows that his game has come forward leaps and bounds, he is a comfortable space and he is contributing in the best possible manner,” Kohli said of Ashwin.
“When you have two quality cricketers, one or the other doesn’t matter. Ash has done the job and we have full faith in Ashwin to play that role of spin-all-round in any conditions.”