"People will say good and bad things but I just want to focus on my game"- Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has been under severe scrutiny courtesy his underwhelming form both in front as well as behind the wickets. The southpaw, who is the only Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test hundred in Australia and England, has been facing constant backlash with fans demanding for him to be replaced by Sanju Samson. 

But the 22-year-old once again gave an account of his precocious talent with a highly matured innings in the first One-day International against the West Indies. It was a hugely mature innings by the southpaw; one that saw him not only stitch a crucial partnership during the middle-overs after the Men in Blue had lost their top-3 but also score his maiden ODI half-century.

It was a pressure-releasing innings from Pant, one that would have given him so much confidence. “Personally if I play for India, every innings is important for me. As a youngster, I just want to learn and improve,” Pant said after the match as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“When Shreyas and I were batting, our aim was to build a partnership and stay until the 40th, because in a 50-over game, we capitalize at the end,” Pant said on his partnership with Shreyas Iyer.

Rishabh Pant on the need to focus on his own game amidst all the criticism

Pant is an aggressive batsman who believes in playing his natural game. But, Sunday’s innings was as much about to restrain and playing according to the situation, as it was about playing his natural game. But, Pant does not believe in the natural game, “There’s nothing called a natural game and we need to play as per the demands of the team. Good players are those who play as per the demands of the team and situations,” he said.

On the intense scrutiny that the southpaw has faced in the past six-seven months, Pant said- “As an individual and a player I just want to focus on the process. People will say good and bad things but I just want to focus on my game. The team management has asked me to just calm myself down and improve myself in every factor.”

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