The cricketing action has started in the international arena after a long delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. England and West Indies played the first Test of the three-match series at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton which the visitors won by four wickets.
However, Indian fans might have to wait a little longer as the COVID-19 cases in the country are increasing every day. Meanwhile, Indian cricketers are finding different ways to interact with their followers. In the process, wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has revealed his favourite batting partner.
The 22-year-old attacking cricketer picked former India skipper MS Dhoni as his favourite batting partner. Pant termed the experience of batting with Dhoni as ‘experience in itself’.
“My favourite batting partner is Dhoni, but it’s very rare that I get the chance to bat with him. If he’s out there, everything remains sorted. He lays out the plan, and you just have to follow his lead. The way his mind works is amazing, especially during chases,” Pant said during a Twitter interaction with Delhi Capitals.
Apart from Dhoni, Pant also chose all the senior members of the team like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan with whom he enjoys batting.
“I enjoy batting even with Virat bhai and Rohit bhai… actually, whenever you’re batting with any of these seniors, it’s a different experience altogether. You have fun with them. You realise how their mind works. It’s different chemistry… even with Iyer and Shiki bhai (Dhawan) in the IPL,” the Roorkee-born added.
Pant has so far played 13 Tests, 16 ODIs and 28 T20Is, in which he has scored 814, 374 and 410 runs. The left-handed batsman has two hundreds and as many half-centuries to his name in the longest format of the game. In ODIs, Pant has smashed one fifty, while in T20Is, the Delhi batsman has slammed two half-tons.
Not so long ago, Mohammad Kaif, the assistant coach of Delhi Capitals (DC), described one thing which is missing in Pant’s batting when he plays for India, but not in IPL.
“Rishabh Pant is a free-flowing player. You have to set his batting position, that he will bat at this position and he will get this many overs to play. He needs to be clear in his head that he will get this many overs so that he is not thinking whether he needs to take singles, or if he needs to defend. He is an attacking batsman, he should start hitting attacking shots from the first ball,” Kaif had explained while talking to former India opener Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
