Rishabh Pant is having a decent Test series in Australia. The young wicketkeeper-batsman had a stunning start to the series when he missed out on a world record by just one catch. In the series-opener in Adelaide, he equalled the world record of Jack Russell and AB de Villiers for the most number of catches in Test by a wicketkeeper.
With 11 catches in the Adelaide Test, Pant went past Wriddhiman Saha’s Indian record of 10 catches in a match. The 21-year-old had an opportunity to break the world record during the second session of the final day of the game but he dropped a catch. Pant has impressed with the bat too but has thrown away starts in all the four innings thus far. Despite looking impressive early on, Pant could not just convert his starts, thus scoring 25, 28, 36 and 30 in the four innings.
With two more games remaining in the four-match series, Pant will have opportunity to make a big score.
But just ahead of the third Test in Melbourne, starting on Wednesday, Pant received a big setback. The youngster was dropped from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand. Pant had received his maiden ODI call-up during India’s last ODI assignment which was the five-match series against Windies at home. Pant had managed to get just two games where he scored only 41 runs.
Following the snub, Pant took to Twitter to post a philosophical message, writing:
“If you are not willing to learn … no one can teach you. But if you’re determined to learn … no one can Stop you ?????”
If you are not willing to learn … no one can teach you. But if you’re determined to learn … no one can Stop you ????? pic.twitter.com/DC5LSuT5ko
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) December 24, 2018
Pant, meanwhile, has managed to retain his spot in the T20I squad for the series in New Zealand.
India’s ODI squad:
Virat (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami.
India’s T20I squad:
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed
Here is the schedule of the series:
ODI series against Australia:
1st ODI – January 12, SCG
2nd ODI – January 15, Adelaide Oval
3rd ODI – January 18, MCG
The Men in Blue will follow the tour of Australia by visiting their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand for a limited-overs series. The series consists of 5 ODIs and three T20Is.
India’s tour of New Zealand schedule:
ODI Series:
1st ODI – January 23, Napier
2nd ODI – January 26, Mount Maunganui
3rd ODI – January 28, Mount Maunganui
4th ODI – January 31, Hamilton
5th ODI – February 3, Wellington
T20I Series:
1st T20 – February 6, Wellington
2nd T20 – February 8, Auckland
3rd T20 – February 10, Hamilton