IPL 2018: Rishabh Pant Reminds Me of My Younger Days, Says Suresh Raina

Delhi Daredevils (DD) has again had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign this year. They are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table and is all set to end at the eighth spot. However, despite their below-par performances, Rishabh Pant will take a lot of good memories as far as his personal performance is concerned.

Moreover, the southpaw Pant has been a prolific run scorer in the season and has been praised by all.

The young pocket-sized dynamo has been applauded by the likes of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar for his extraordinary strokeplay in the ongoing eleventh edition of the IPL.

Delhi-based batsman Pant scored a breathtaking 128 of just 63 deliveries against a star-studded Hyderabad bowling line-up. However, despite his special knock, Hyderabad went on to win the match on a canter.

Following his stupendous form, Pant was also applauded by Suresh Raina. The southpaw is currently the second highest run scorer in the history of IPL.

“He is doing so well. He is my favourite batsman right now,” Raina was quoted as saying by India Today ahead of the clash between Delhi and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Also Read: IPL 2018: De Villiers Gets Congratulated After his Sensational All-Round Performance Against Hyderabad

The southpaw has so far amassed 582 runs from 12 matches and has also seen wearing the Orange Cup on several occasions. Raina also had a huge compliment for the 20-year-old. He said that Pant reminds him of his younger days.

The way he plays reminds me of myself: Raina: 

“The way he plays, he reminds me of myself, of my early days. In fact, Sachin Paaji (Tendulkar) also said that he is a mix of Raina and Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh). Viru bhai (Sehwag) also praised him a lot. Such cricketers are god-gifted. I have seen many ups-and-downs in these 10 years but god-gifted players like him just need support,” Raina maintained.

Pant has been part of the national team in four Twenty20 Internationals so far and has scored 73 runs with a top score of 38.

Meanwhile, his franchise’s tenure will come to an end on Sunday but Raina is of the opinion that the young 20-year-old Rishabh Pant has a long way to go and will ultimately go on to be one of the finest players the country has seen.

“I think that whatever opportunity he has got till now, he has done reasonably well for the Indian team. It is unfortunate that he missed out on a place in the Indian team for the Ireland and England tour. He seems to be one of those cricketers who will play for a long time for India,” Raina concluded.

Also Read: AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli Better Than Kane Williamson: Kevin Pietersen