IND vs SL 2022: Rishabh Pant can change the game in 40 minutes – Rohit Sharma

Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has the skills to change the game in only 40 minutes. Pant is known for his pyrotechnics and he mostly backs himself to play in an aggressive manner, which is his natural style.

The left-hander scored an attacking knock of 39 runs in the first innings and then made the record of fastest Test fifty for an Indian batter as he reached the milestone in only 28 balls.

Pant also made the record of the fastest half-century by a wicket-keeper in Test matches. The southpaw is known to hit the ground running and he has already played some match-winning knocks in his young Test career.

However, it has been noticed that Pant can also be a bit reckless at the beginning of his innings and Rohit revealed that the team management has had a word with him to play according to the match situation. But at the same time, Rohit added that the team wants to give Pant the freedom to play the way he wants.

Rohit Sharma said in the post-match press conference, “His batting is his batting. 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 also conveyed that to him, but we want to stick with his game plan as a team. It just seems to get better and get better – his game plans.

“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. And he is somebody who can change the game in 40 minutes,” he said.

On the other hand, Pant has taken giant strides as a wicket-keeper. He kept the wickets brilliantly on a difficult Bengaluru pitch, which had variable bounce. Furthermore, the ball was turning square from the opening day and Pant kept superbly, especially against the spinners.

“And the most significant factor of his in this series was his keeping. His keeping was 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.

Pant will now lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022.