XtraTime Web Desk: This is the right time for young wicket keeper batsman Rishabh Pant to “unleash” his rich potential in all three formats, said India skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the first T20I against Windies on Saturday.
With little clarity over the future of veteran MS Dhoni, Pant has now become the preferred choice in all three formats and that was pointed out by chief selector MSK Prasad after the selection panel picked the squads for the West Indies tour.
“It’s
a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of
international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at
this stage,” Kohli said on Friday.
“We know how much ability he has and we all
want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS
Dhoni’s experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said
that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they
should just look forward to it.”
Kohli has already said the tour is a good
opportunity for fringe players like Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey to stake a
claim for a spot in India’s brittle middle-order in ODIs.
The T20 here on Saturday will be India’s first
outing since the heart-breaking loss to New Zealand in the World Cup semifinals
last month. The skipper is yet to get over the loss.
“The first few days after we exited the
World Cup were quite difficult. Till the time the tournament got over, every
time we woke up it was the worst feeling in the morning. Then through the day
you do things and sort of get on with your life. We are professionals. We move
ahead. Every team has to move on.
“So we are quite okay with what happened in
the World Cup. Yesterday the fielding session and the little bit of time we
spent on the field was really good. Everyone was excited, looking forward to
just playing, just being on the field again. I think that’s the best thing you
can do as a team, just get on the park as soon as possible.”
The Indian team could not train ahead of the
game due to rain but having played here three years ago, it has an idea of the
conditions.
“I think the covers look the same,”
quipped Kohli.
“We haven’t seen the pitch, we haven’t seen
anything apart from the covers on the pitch. When we play tomorrow, we can
assess how the pitch has come along. Even last time we played, it was pretty
good, high-scoring, and we all had a lot of fun playing here, and this time is
going to be no different.”
Kohli is all for having more international games
in the United States.
“For now I think it’s all about creating
that buzz and just getting people in to watch the games. The more we come here
and play, obviously the game is going to get more and more buzz around it,
people are going to talk about it.
“You see 15,000-20,000 people going to a
place to watch something, obviously it should be important. Hopefully in years
to come, people will have more interest. Local people in America as well, not
just the Asian community or the West Indian community but the whole community
in general will have more interest in the sport.”
He feels the T20 format is the ideal one to
promote the game globally.
“I think T20 cricket is something that can be understood and accepted in the American culture because of the length of the game and it’s quite entertaining as well. So I think for the sport to become global in many ways, a lot of interest here will go a long way in achieving that for the sport,” he added.