Rishabh Pant said no to his comparison with MS Dhoni, saying that he wants to be himself. After scoring a hundred in the second innings of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh, Pant mentioned that his focus is on giving his best for the team, especially after returning from a fatal car accident.
Pant’s impressive return ended any doubts about his ability to play red-ball cricket. He scored 39 runs in the first innings and reached the three-digit mark in the second essay. His sixth century played a key role in India’s win by 280 runs.
Pant also equaled MS Dhoni’s record for six hundreds, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper in the longest format. While Dhoni reached this milestone in 90 red-ball games, Pant touched the mark in just 34.
“This is the home ground of Chennai Super Kings. Mahi bhai has played a lot of cricket here. I don’t want to be next MS Dhoni and I want to be myself. I don’t focus on what is being said. My job is to give my best. The atmosphere at Chepauk was amazing and I enjoyed the Test match here,” Pant told the broadcasters.
Pant later revealed that captain Rohit Sharma had told him to play aggressive cricket as the management was thinking about declaring the second innings. “I played according to my strengths. I knew we had lost quick wickets and I wanted to avoid exposing the tail. The pitch was good for batting, and I wanted to score a hundred,” added.
“When we went for lunch, Rohit Sharma told us that he’d give us an hour after the break before he declares the innings.”
Comments are closed.