Rishabh Pant reveals plans to make a crack into the Indian team

Delhi batsman Rishabh Pant has stated that he would love to have a crack at the Indian cricket team in the near future. The 19-year old wicketkeeper-batsman has been in tremendous form of late with the bat and already has a triple-century to his name in Ranji Trophy cricket.

Speaking about the same, Pant said that the transition for him from U19 cricket to the Ranji Trophy has been quite smooth for him, especially given the fact that he has realized the importance of batting in the longer format of the game.

While talking to India Today, Pant said, “Good thing for me is that I played IPL before first class cricket. Interacting with a lot of senior Indian players, and also foreigners, gave me a lot of confidence. The transition from Under-19 to senior level was thus much smoother for me.”

“I always knew that after the Under-19 World Cup, this Ranji season would be very important for me. I prepared hard for it. I set goals for myself but never reveal it to anyone. Not even to my parents. I just want to achieve them first. I just want to work hard and focus on performing well. This season, next season and in the years to come. I have been really working hard on my wicketkeeping for a long time, really want to do well and focus on it just like my batting,” he added.

Speaking about his fastest 100 against Nepal in the U19 World Cup, Rishabh Pant said, “I didn’t know about the record (fastest hundred). I just wanted to break the record for maximum sixes which was 14. But, I could hit only 13. It happens with me every time. In the Under-19 World Cup, I made a 23-ball 78 against Nepal. I wanted to make the fastest ton which was off 32 balls,“ said Pant.

“The moment I thought about it, I got out off the next ball. It happened this time as well. I could have scored the hundred in 42-43 balls too as I was batting on 96 then but told myself to be patient, take some time and eventually got it in 48 balls,” Pant added.

Finally, Pant added that the only thing he regretted was that he did not get to bat with Virender Sehwag. “I always used to watch Viru bhaiya playing. It was an absolute delight watching him bat. I wanted to bat alongside him but unfortunately the year I made my first-class debut, he left Delhi and started playing for Haryana. It feels good when people say that I play like him,” he concluded.