Veteran Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan recently praised the young Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Dhawan is confident that Pant will serve India for a long time.
The 21-year-old Rishabh Pant is a very talented wicketkeeper-batsman. Due to his impressive performances in domestic cricket, Pant made his international debut in February 2017. He has already played 11 Tests, 12 ODIs and 20 T20Is.
Read More: MS Dhoni Is The Best Wicketkeeper-Batsman: Sushant Singh Rajput
The youngster has shown his great potential in early of his international career. However, he is currently facing a big struggling period. Though he is still a good wicketkeeper, the left-handed batsman is consistently failing to score good runs. Despite making good starts, Pant is failing to convert these starts into the big scores due to poor shot selections. Sometimes his irresponsible shots are badly affecting the team.
Due to his struggling performances, Pant is facing danger to keep his spot in the playing XI of the national team. Though Pant is in the Test squad for the upcoming home series against South Africa, he is likely to face drop-out from the playing XI.
Read More: India Vs South Africa 2019/20: Brad Hogg Chooses Between Rishabh Pant And Wriddhiman Saha For The First Test
Rishabh Pant is a good player and we need to back good players – Shikhar Dhawan
However, Shikhar Dhawan is not worried about Pant’s recent disappointing performances. The veteran opener feels that it is part and parcel of this game. Rather than, Dhawan praised Pant by calling him a very talented cricketer. Dhawan is confident that Pant will represent the Indian national cricket team for a long time.
The 33-year-old told Aap Ki Adalat, “Rishabh is very talented and I am sure he will have a long career for India. He is trying hard. There are situations when you don’t score, but then you learn from them. It happens with everyone and I’m sure he will learn from it.
“He (Pant) is a good player and we need to back good players. Even I went through rough patches in my life, and I still do. It is part and parcel of this game.”
In the recently concluded home T20I series against South Africa, Rishabh Pant scored 4 and 19 runs. The India vs South Africa three-match Test series will run from 2nd October to 23rd October 2019. Apart from Pant, Wriddhiman Saha is also in the Indian Test squad as a wicketkeeper-batsman.