A Grade A contract. This is what Rishabh Pant was awarded with on the 16th of January of 2020. A contract worth a grand total of ₹5 crore. An amount so big that there are only 3 people earning more out of which 2 are the captain and vice-captain of the nation. An amount that is only meant for players who are regular members of the playing XI. Players without whom the team does not seem at it’s full strength. A mere 5 months ago, through this announcement BCCI made it seem as though Pant was the long-term investment for the team. He was undoubtedly going to take the place of the keeper-batsmen in the team, in 2 of the formats, if not all 3.
Fast forward to May and KL Rahul has taken his spot in limited overs cricket, while in test cricket Wriddhiman Saha seems to be the favourite to be in the playing XI. Now the real question is, is Pant ready to be just another young talent that was not backed by the team?
In all fairness to the captain and team management, Pant was given numerous chances. Since India’s exit from the World Cup, Pant was India’s keeper-batsmen in almost every match they played, whether it be limited overs or test cricket. Even during the second half of the World Cup, after Pant replaced an injured Vijay Shankar in the squad, he played almost every match. In the World Cup, Pant did not disappoint anyone, however he wasn’t able to grab probably one of the biggest opportunities of his life. In the all important semi-finals against New Zealand, India was suffering at 5–2 in the 3rd over itself after the lost of Virat Kohli and his deputy, the highest run-scorer of the tournament Rohit Sharma. This was the perfect opportunity for Pant to settle down, take his time and lead his team to victory with a relatively small target of 240. Initially he did well. Along with Hardik Pandya, the youngster tried to stabilise India’s position before falling to Mitchell Santner at 32. He could have stayed in for longer before attempting a big shot like he did. However, he could not resist the temptation of going after the low left-arm orthodox spinner ,displaying his inexperience.
Inexperience. The most important word, along with pressure. Due to all the big stars in the team, maybe we have forgotten that at the end of the day Rishabh Pant is still a 22 year old boy trying to assert his place in the team. However, in the process of doing so he is quite aggressively being compared to arguably one of the greatest wicket-keeper in the history of Indian Cricket. Every time this young man is on the field the crowd begins to chant “Dhoni, Dhoni”. Every time this young man does not play well the entire nation and media starts to question his place in the team. It cannot be easy to carry the pressure from selectors as well as the nation to perform exactly like a legend used to, in every single match. What is that going to do to the confidence of such a young bloke? Let’s not forget that at the age of 22 even greats like Kohli, Rohit were inconsistent youngsters trying to fill in the shoes of legends. At the end of the day, everyone needs to remember that Rishabh Pant is yet another serious talent that can go onto become a match winner for India, but with the way he has been replaced in every format, is it possible he might be just another wasted talent from India?
