Wriddhiman Saha backs Rishabh Pant after the latter gets slammed for Mohali show

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is the latest villain of Indian cricket. The 21-year-old Delhi cricketer had a horrible day in the field in the fourth ODI against Australia in Mohali on Sunday and his failed attempts to dismiss the opponent batsmen helped the visitors chase down a massive target of 359. Clamour for Pant’s ouster from the side and bringing back Dinesh Karthik and that the youngster could never become another MS Dhoni became strong.

It was the first time that Pant was keeping in an ODI game for India as he played his previous three games only as a specialist batsman. There were also voices sympathising with Pant for it was only the fourth ODI and first time as a keeper for the 21-year-old.

Veteran Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty was one among them who backed the youngster on Twitter and asked people to introspect what they were doing at the age of 21. He also praised Pant as a pure talent and advised him to keep focus on his game.

Pant’s rise put Saha’s international career under cloud

Another senior India wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha seconded Shetty’s thought on Pant and replied to his tweet with a single word: “True!” Saha himself was considered a long-term replacement for MS Dhoni in Tests but a long injury break saw him missing cricket – both international and national – for a long time and Pant rose meanwhile and cemented his place in the longer-format squad.

True!

— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) March 11, 2019

So far, Pant has had a fabulous run with the bat in Test cricket and hammered 350 runs in the last series against Australia Down Under. He belted a knock of 159 not out in Sydney in January to make an emphatic statement about his longevity in Test cricket. Pant’s arrival has made it extremely difficult for the likes of Saha, Dinesh Karthik, and Parthiv Patel to return to red-ball cricket even though Saha had it in him to succeed in the long term.

Saha though has categorically said it on different occasions that he doesn’t see Pant as his competitor. The 34-year-old, who did not play cricket since the Indian Premier League last year, recently returned to the game for Bengal in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament and played some good knocks, including a 62-ball 129 against Arunachal Pradesh in Cuttack.

[interaction id=”5c7f6da10e019f3ecd6b60b7″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.