ICC World Cup 2019: I Became More Positive After World Cup Snub - Rishabh Pant

The young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has revealed that the World Cup snub had a positive impact on him and he started working hard during the IPL. Pant failed to make the cut for the 15-member squad to travel to England for the ICC World Cup 2019.

World Cup snub made me positive: Pant

But an unexpected injury to Shikhar Dhawan had opened the roads for the five ODI veteran Rishabh Pant. The swashbuckling opener copped up a blow during the game against Australia on his thumb. Scans revealed he had a fracture on his thumb and the management decided to keep him with the whole squad and assess his injury. In the meantime, BCCI called Rishabh Pant as a cover-up who joined the team in Manchester ahead of the Pakistan game.

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However, after close assessment, BCCI revealed that Shikhar Dhawan will take some time to recover, and as a result, they had replaced him with Rishabh Pant. The Delhi born cricketer had impressed with his aggressive style of batting, and it will be a welcome opportunity for him to make a mark. Pant revealed that he got more positive after the World Cup snub. He worked hard in the IPL and had a good time and kept on practising when he got the unexpected call.

“When I didn’t get selected, I thought maybe I didn’t do something right, so I became more positive and focussed on how to improve myself. Then I did well in IPL. Then I kept practising,” Pant told Chahal TV.

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Rishabh Pant, who has played 5 ODIs scoring 93 runs so far, will look to make full utilisation of the opportunity if any comes his way. India will play Afghanistan in their next World Cup match on June 22 (Saturday) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton.