The most refreshing aspect of India’s series victory versus Sri Lanka was Rishabh Pant’s responsible batting. A total of 185 runs in three innings at an average of 61.66 and a strike rate of 120.12 earned him the Man of the Series award on Monday.

Besides his 96 in Mohali, the quick-fire 39 in the first innings in Bangalore and the record-breaking 50 off 31 balls in the second innings proved crucial in the series victory.

“We know how he bats and as a team we just want to give him that freedom to bat in the way that he wants to bat. But also keeping in mind certain situations of the game, where the game is going, we have conveyed that to him but we want to stick with his gameplan as a team,” Rohit Sharma said at the post-match news conference.

“It just seems to get better and get better, his gameplan. There will be times when you will smash your head and say ‘why did he play that shot’... but again we need to be ready to accept that with him when he bats.”

Rohit said the team was willing to let him bat the way he wants to. “He is somebody who can change the game literally in half an hour or 40 minutes. I think what comes with Rishabh Pant, we are ready to accept that,” he said.

Praising his improved skills behind the wicket, Rohit said the most significant factor was Pant’s keeping in the series.

“His keeping was the best that I have seen. He kept well when England came last year and he seems to get better every time he keeps wickets for India, so that is something that I have been very impressed with.

“And also the DRS calls, (he) seems to be making the right calls. DRS we all know, it’s like a lottery. There are certain aspects of the game that I have told him to look into and that’s about it. DRS calls are not something you will always get it right, there will be times when you will be making wrong calls, but that’s absolutely okay,” the Team India captain said.