Rahul Dravid backs Rishabh Pant to flourish in red-ball cricket after India call-up

Sudhir Gupta 18:12 22/07/2018
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  • Rishab Pant had an excellent tour of England with India A.

    Rishabh Pant is quickly making a name for himself after his exhilarating performances for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL this year which have been followed by an equally impressive showing in India A’s tour of England.

    That rich vein of form has seen the young wicketkeeper-batsman named in India‘s 18-man squad for the upcoming Test series against England after Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

    Despite Pant being known for his aggressive and attacking approach to batting, India A coach Rahul Dravid believes that the youngster has the temperament to succeed in every format.

    “Rishabh has shown that he could bat differently. He has the temperament and skills to bat differently,” Dravid told bcci.tv.

    “He is always going to be an attacking player but reading of the situation when one is playing red ball cricket is required. We are glad that he has been picked in the national team and I hope he takes this maturity and builds from thereon.”

    Dravid, who has also coached Pant in his India U19 days, expressed his delight at how the youngster had handled various situations during the India A tour.

    Dravid coached the India A team in their tour of England.

    Dravid coached the India A team in their tour of England.

    “On this trip, we challenged him a lot to bat according to the situation. He got a critical 64 not out in the One-Day tri-series final (England Lions), when he was the last recognised batsman,” he said.

    “And also against West Indies A, he put on a 100-run partnership with Jayant Yadav,” the batting legend added.

    The former India batsman believes having shadow tours like India A’s recent sojourns in England is of great benefit to the senior team.

    “It’s great to have shadow tours. It may not always be possible but whenever it’s possible it’s highly beneficial. A lot of players have joined the national side from the team. It also gave Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane come down and spend time with us and play a practice game that was competitive and tough,” said Dravid.

    Dravid’s men completed their assignment in England with a loss to England Lions in their second unofficial Test at Worcester. Pant however, did well to register half-centuries in each innings.

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