Ravi Shastri heaps praise on Rishabh Pant; justifies his selection in Indian Team

Rishabh Pant and his subsequent selection in the India Test side that will play the five-match Test series against England is certainly something that has raised several questions. The fact that the bias is witnessing two sides of a coin wherein half is for the selection while the other half is against. In spite of this, head coach Ravi Shastri has stated that he is indeed excited to have the youngster aboard the ship.

Shastri, who is a practitioner of deploying the young guns has gone on to reiterate the fact that it was indeed time to groom another wicketkeeper. He also went on to add that Pant could potentially become a game-changer in the grand scheme of things.

“Why was it bold? He was getting runs for India A. He is young. It is also time to groom another keeper. He has the flair. He has something unorthodox about him when it comes to his batting. He can be a game changer, so why not give him the opportunity?” he told ESPNcricinfo.

Shastri expects Pant to be fearless

Shastri went on to add that results would come along if Pant continued playing his natural game. In recent times, the 20-year old has been bearing the brunt of criticisms with some weak performances in the Nidahas Trophy earlier this year. However, in spite of that, he is viewed as the golden head boy of the Indian Test team, so to speak.

“Fearless cricket. Trust your instincts. Play your natural game. Results will happen. We will have some fun. We are aggressive. We play to win. Even in this series, we are playing to win. We are not here to draw games or fill in the numbers. We play every game to win and take the game forward. And if in trying to win we lose a game, tough luck. As long as we win more than we lose, we are happy.”

The first Test begins on the first of August in Edgbaston.

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