Rishabh Pant stays just as relaxed as he used to be during his early days — that’s how Gautam Gambhir sees the explosive India wicketkeeper-batsman. Pant made his senior level debut under Gambhir’s captaincy in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi against Bengal in October 2015. Having tracked Pant’s progress, Gambhir acknowledged his growth in terms of maturity, while he also feels that the 24-year-old is better placed temperament-wise at present. “Frankly, I have always seen Pant as a very relaxed character and not as someone who panics or rushes into things. Instead, he comes across as a happy-go-lucky guy.
“I feel there are some individuals who would naturally get enamoured with the riches of playing for India, but Pant didn’t. Maybe coming from a small town (Roorkee), he didn’t expect such a turn of events in life,” the former India opener, now the East Delhi Lok Sabha member, told The Telegraph.
“I do feel Pant is enjoying every moment of it. That is how he was when he started under my captaincy. “It is important to understand that it’s the success that builds the character of a man. For Pant, he has achieved success scoring centuries in overseas series, captaining a high-profile IPL team (Delhi Capitals), and interacting and learning under the likes of (India head coach) Rahul Dravid, (Capitals head coach) Ricky Ponting.
“All these things are combining well to make him more mature and a very sound individual temperament-wise,” Gambhir, also the Lucknow Super Giants mentor, said. Talking about Pant’s evolution as a player, Gambhir said: “Where he bats, both in the IPL and for India, he is expected to finish games or score aggressively towards the end of the innings. I feel it’s the role allotted to Pant that has helped him mature earlier than most of the other players.” Ideal slot Should Pant be India’s regular No.4 in ODI cricket, also for the options he provides being a left-hander?
Gambhir wants Pant to be allowed to bat where he’s most comfortable. “When Sachin Tendulkar batted at No.4 (from mid-2005 till the 2007 World Cup), people wanted him to open the innings. But (then India coach) Greg Chappell wanted him to bat at four, so you can never be satisfied as there is too much of conjecture in these aspects. But I would just let Pant play wherever he is playing at the moment and not tinker with his batting position,” Gambhir said.
