Rishabh Pant Explains How He Coped With Criticism And Scripted A Remarkable Heist In Australia

Indian swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is currently the toast of the nation following his match-winning 89* in the fourth innings of the Brisbane Test, one that only helped Team India breach the ‘Gabbatoir’ but also script a triumph for the ages as they notched up consecutive Test series wins Down Under.

But it wasn’t all hunky-dory for the 23-year-old leading into the Test series. For a better part of the last 18 months leading into the Test series Down Under, Rishabh Pant endured scathing criticism from fans and pundits alike for his poor form with the bat as well as behind the stumps and his weight issues.

The southpaw, after having underperformed with the bat, eventually lost his place as first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in white-ball cricket in early 2020.

Then in IPL 2020, Pant was ridiculed for being overweight and his sloppy keeping. Barring the summit clash against the Mumbai Indians where he scored a brilliant fifty, he did not have a memorable IPL campaign as per his standards.

He was ignored from the white-ball squads for the tour of Australia besides not being considered for the opening Test with Team India going with the superior keeping skills of Wriddhiman Saha. However, with Saha enduring the nightmarish outing in Adelaide, Rishabh Pant eventually got his opportunity in the Boxing Day Test.

And, even though his keeping still left a lot to be desired, Pant more than made up for it with two back-to-back brilliant fourth innings knocks in Sydney and Brisbane. The southpaw smashed a whirlwind 97 off 118 balls at the SCG and backed it up with a mature and superbly calm and collected 89 not-out at the Gabba,

Pant eventually ended the series as the third-highest scorer and India’s leading run-getter- 274 runs in six innings. So, how did Rishabh Pant coped with all the criticism that has come his way? Very simple. The 23-year-old ensured that he blocked all the outside noise by segregating himself from social media, put his head down and ensured that he worked his backside off to script a remarkable heist.

”I was feeling the heat each and every day, it’s part and parcel of the game. But as an individual you need to believe in yourself. I was lucky that I had a few people around me who told me to keep believing in myself and just keep working hard,” Rishabh Pant told Boria Majumdar on Sports Today.

“If you’re moving forward then you’re improving, this is what I’ve learnt during the tough phase. Focus so much on your game that you don’t notice anything else. It’s difficult also to block the outside noise because of social media but I have segregated myself from it,” he added.

“When you’re doing well people will write good but when you’re not they will criticise you. Its part and parcel of a cricketer’s life nowadays. So if you don’t focus on the criticism and instead focus on your cricket then that’s much better I guess,” he added.

Also Read: I Always Had The Mindset To Win The Series For India: Rishabh Pant