Rishabh Pant Replies To MSK Prasad's Comments On Young Wicketkeepers

Things have not gone Rishabh Pant’s way this season. The highly-rated wicketkeeper-batsman was all over the news earlier this year for his sensational performances in the domestic circuit.

After starring for India in the Under-19 World Cup last year, he took domestic cricket by storm last year. Pant grabbed the headlines after slamming 308 off just 326 balls against Maharashtra in Ranji Trophy before following it up with a 48-ball hundred against Jharkhand which is one of the fastest first-class centuries by an Indian.

He had gone on to finish the season with  972 runs in only eight outings including four centuries, a couple of the fifties and an amazing strike-rate of over 107. A maiden call-up from the senior Indian team soon followed as he was included in the team for the T20I series against England. A good performance in the Indian Premier League saw him make it to the standby list for the Champions Trophy before he was recalled for the series against West Indies.

ALSO READ: Rishabh Pant Breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s Record; Becomes Youngest Captain To Lead A Side In Ranji Trophy Final

But the left-handed batsman has looked like a pale shadow of his usual self this term which perhaps prompted chief selector MSK Prasad that no wicketkeeper in the country is even close to MS Dhoni. Pant, however, is not at all worried about the chief selector’s comments and is only focusing on piling up the runs.

“I should not worry about all this. I don’t think about all this at all. My job is to perform, score as many runs as possible,” Pant said.

Prasad recently made it clear that 36-year Dhoni remains India’s best wicketkeeper in limited overs cricket.

“There is no comparison and I don’t see any wicket-keeper, who can even come close to him (Dhoni) in world cricket, leave alone Indian Cricket,” Prasad had said, more or less sealing the fate of all young keepers such as Pant and Sanju Samson till the 2019 World Cup.

Pant, meanwhile, has been given the added responsibility of leading a Delhi team, that includes seasoned campaigners such as Gautam Gambhir. Well, the youngster is enjoying a stellar season as skipper, leading Delhi to the final of the Ranji Trophy. However, his poor form with the bat continued in the ongoing final against Vidarbha too, scoring just 21 on Friday (December 29).

ALSO READ : Chief Selector, MSK Prasad Backs MS Dhoni Till 2019 World Cup

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