Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant (Credits: Twitter)

One of the biggest factors that cost Rishabh Pant a place in the World Cup squad was his non-finishing abilities. Experienced Dinesh Karthik was chosen over him as the selectors preferred experience over youth. It was up to Rishabh Pant to answer the selectors post the World Cup snub but he could finish off games for Delhi Capitals, that somehow proved the selectors correct.

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Yes, he brought Delhi Capitals on brink of famous wins on many occasions but could not stay there till the end. The recent match where he failed to stay there till the end came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (in the Eliminator), where he took his team close to the target with an innings of 49 off 21 but again, he was dismissed when his team was just eight away from the win.

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Rishabh Pant (Image Credit: IPL)

In the starting phase of the league, his dismissal at a crucial stage also cost Delhi Capitals match against Kings XI Punjab. He was dismissed when team was just 23 runs short of the target and from there, KXIP made a spectacular comeback to post a historic win. Delhi Capitals lost their last seven wickets for just eight runs.

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The inability of Rishabh to finish off games did not have an impact on captain Shreyas Iyer as he backed his player to play the same way. Pravin Amre, a member of Delhi Capitals’ support staff, also backed Rishabh to continue to play in the same manner.

“I saw Rishabh three years ago (when he joined Delhi) and when I see him now, I feel a lot of good has happened to him. He has got that X-factor and he can win games singlehandedly on his day,” he said.

“If you talking about his finishing skills, he himself is aware (that he needs to finish games more often). When you are a match winner you have take on the opposition in this format. You can’t play safe cricket, you have to take risks. With this type of players, you really have to mould them properly. You can’t tinker with their natural game. They play on instincts,” the former Indian batsman added.

Delhi Capitals' Coach Pravin Amre Backs Rishabh Pant To Play The Same Way, Says He Has Got The X-Factor
Rishabh Pant (Credits: Twitter)

In total, Rishabh Pant scored 488 runs in 16 matches with a strike-rate of 162.66. He scored 38 off 25 against Chennai Super Kings in the second Qualifier to help his side score 147. The MS Dhoni-led team chased down the target with ease to make it to the final of the tournament.

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Rishabh, who is the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in Test cricket, might now go on to play for India A against Sri Lanka A. He is sure of a place the Test squad for West Indies tour that takes place a few weeks after World Cup 2019.

The left-handed batsman is also on the list of standby players for World Cup 2019 and could be called in in case any player is ruled out of the tournament.