Ravi Shastri takes no prisoners and Rishabh Pant will be no exception
Team India coach Ravi Shastri came out defending his comments on Rishabh Pant after a furore of reactions from former India players including Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh.
While Gambhir was of the opinion that such comments from the team management is disappointing and someone needs to put an arm around him instead, Yuvraj asked people to stop criticizing the wicketkeeper-batsman.
All started when Shastri, before the start of the series pulled up Rishabh Pant for his 'careless' batting and said that Pant will get a 'the rap on the knuckles' if he doesn't play for the team.
Since then, the wicketkeeper-batsman has managed scores of 4 and 19 and has thrown his wickets away on both occasions with India going on to lose the second game at the Chinnaswamy as the visitors drew the three-match series 1-1 following a washout in the first game at Dharamsala.
And, on Thursday, speaking to Hindustan Times, Shastri once again clarified that Pant could be a world-beater but he will be pulled up if he is not doing the job the team asks him to perform.
"Don't say team management, I spoke about 'the rap on the knuckles'. If someone goofs up, I have to pull them up. Am I there only to play tabla? But this guy is world class, this guy can be destructive, can be a destroyer. And we will give him all the support that he needs to prosper in international cricket," Shastri said.
"Pant is different, he is world-class and is a brutal match-winner. Very few around in the world game; I can't pick five on my hands when it comes to white-ball cricket, T20 cricket. So the patience we will have with him is a lot," he added.
Shastri also went on to say that because of Pant's potential he will backed to the hilt because of the immense calibre of the 21-year-old.
The comments come at a timely juncture and shows that the team management backs youngsters to do so but won't be afraid of calling them out if they continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Shastri has often been called a 'Yes-man' and when he was re-appointed as the coach earlier in the year till the World T20 in 2021, it was described as the most obvious and predicted decision in a while. But, him coming out and stamping his authority makes a statement to the doubters and also signals his intent of not letting players take their places for granted and performance being the key for survival in the Indian cricket team going ahead.
