20 January,2021 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit Joshi
India`s Rishabh Pant en route his unbeaten 89 yesterday. Pic/AFP
When Rishabh Pant, 23, stepped on to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the Boxing Day Test, it was his first international match since January 2020.
Though the explosive wicketkeeper-batsman was part of the Indian team, all he did was warm the bench before that. Despite having played 16 ODIs and 28 T20Is, he was still not the first-choice wicketkeeper and always played second fiddle to Wriddhiman Saha when it came to Tests. Pant finally made his way into the playing XI at the MCG following India's 36 all-out shocker in the first Test at Adelaide. And he has not looked back since.
His invaluable second-innings knock of 97 at Sydney helped India eke out a draw in the third Test and his unbeaten 89 on Tuesday saw the visitors clinch their second back-to-back Test series win in Australia.
Pant's coach-cum-mentor Tarak Sinha strongly believes his ward now deserves a fixed place in the playing XI.
"Rishabh deserves a permanent place in the XI because after doing so much, if he still has to fight for his spot, it's unfair. It's all about having faith in him. When you have backed him so much, you can't abandon him now. Rishabh was very upset after being dropped [from the playing XI] for the T20Is, especially since it is his most preferred format. He was then out of the ODIs too, and even in the Tests, he was in and out. This was the only opportunity he got to prove himself and I'm glad he has," Sinha told mid-day from New Delhi.
Sinha also feels that constant scrutiny on Pant's batting is uncalled for. "One bad performance does not define a player. There are many batsmen, who get out early, but that does not make them bad. A player is picked to play for India after a lot of thought. Rishabh should be allowed to settle in the Indian team, and that can only happen if he is consistently given opportunities. Yesterday, he started off slowly as the pitch was not easy to bat on, so his temperament was there for all to see. And there is no questioning his talent going by his stellar performance against the world's best bowling attack. He has worked hard on his fitness too," added Sinha.
Wicketkeeping is an area where Pant has erred at times, but Sinha insisted that he can only get better hereafter. "When he gets regular chances, he will steadily improve as a wicketkeeper too. If he is in and out of the XI, he will never be able to settle," he concluded.
After playing a key role in India's breathtaking and successful run chase in the series-deciding fourth Test against Australia, Rishabh Pant on Tuesday called the historic win as the biggest moment of his life. "This is one of the biggest moments of my life and I'm happy that the support staff and my teammates supported me even when I wasn't playing," Pant said. "It's been a dream series. The team management always backs me and tells me, âyou're a match-winner and you have to go and win it for the team.' I keep thinking every day that I want to win matches for India, and I did it today," he added.
