Virat Kohli calls for patience with Rishabh Pant after Guyana knock
Team India captain Virat Kohli backed Rishabh Pant to come good for India consistently in the future and asked people to be more patient with him.
Kohli and Pant struck a 106-run stand for the third wicket as India beat West Indies by 7 wickets to win the three-match T20I series against West Indies 3-0. Pant especially shined under the guidance of Kohli and smashed a 42-ball 65 not out to take his team over the line after two disappointing games in Florida.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli asked people to give him some space because he has the potential to be the future of Indian cricket.
"We are looking at him (Pant) as the future. He has got a lot of skill and lot of talent. It is about giving him some space and not putting too much of pressure," the skipper made his intentions clear.
The most common criticism has been about Pant's incosistency and knack of playing rash shots to get out but Kohli believes he will soon start finishing games more consistently.
"He's come a long way since he's started. It's about winning and finishing games like these. In international cricket, you need to tackle pressure differently. If he plays like this regularly, we will see his potential shine for India," Kohli said.
He was all praise for seamer Depak Chahar, who got 3 for 4 in his first spell to set the ball rolling for India. The skipper compared him to senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"Deepak is similar to Bhuvi. With the new ball, Deepak's skill is up there with Bhuvi. Bhuvi however has more experience at th death. Swing has been his (Deepak) USP in the IPL too. He is really lethal with the new ball - puts the batsmen in real trouble," the skipper was all praise.
A 3-0 whitewash is certainly satisfactory and the skipper would like to carry on the momentum into the ODI series.
"It was a clinical performance. We wanted to try out players but priority was to win games. Deepak was great, Bhuvi professional as always. The wicket over here was much better than the one in Miami. West Indies got to a decent total because of the wicket, but we were professional with both ball and bat," the skipper added.
The skipper dubbed the Windies ODI side as a stronger outfit and would want his side to maintain the consistency.
"We want to be as professional as possible in the ODIs and Tests. We want results, to win games of cricket. The Windies ODI team is even stronger, so it will be hard work, but we will try to have fun as a team for a month."
(With inputs from PTI)
