Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has heaped praise on Rishabh Pant, saying that the young wicketkeeper-batsman now looks a very mature cricketer after joining the team. He said that when Pant was selected as the first choice wicketkeeper M S DhoniPeople doubted his ability and questioned whether he would be able to fill the big shoes of the legend who had put pressure on the then 20-year-old boy.
“Actually, everyone wanted him (Pant) to be like Mahi bhai. The way MSD was behind the stumps. I remember that if Pant ever missed a catch or the DRS went wrong, the whole ground would chant ‘Mahi Mahi’.
“So, there was a lot of pressure on that kid (Pant)… as he was only 19 or 20 years old at that time. We would tell them to ignore all these things and focus on their game. He was under tremendous pressure… then he was also out of the team for a while.”
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However, Pant has now become India’s first-choice player across all formats. After going through a tough time, he made a spectacular comeback in the Australia series in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
His brilliant innings of 97 and 89 not out in the Gabba Test helped India win the match. He then returned to India’s white-ball sides in ODIs and T20Is against England in March and did really well.
Pant has recently played all four Test matches against England and has become one of India’s biggest match winners, especially in Test matches.
“He has come back well. He has improved a lot; he has shown a lot of maturity. His performance has been really good and I think people should understand that when a player is on the field, he is at his best.” And nobody wants to do poorly. People should give some respect to the player.”
“The bowlers are getting good help now with Pant being behind the stumps. Look, there is no replacement for a player. There can be no substitute for Mahi Bhai. Pant is trying his best to do better and better. There is no need to compare,” he said.
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