File image of Rishabh Pant
It is the job of a talented cricketer like Rishabh Pant to prove his detractors wrong, legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev said here on Saturday.
Of late, Pant has found himself at the receiving end of criticism for his inconsistency in the field while playing for India.
"Pant is so talented. He cannot blame anybody. He has to look after his own career. The only way for him is to keep on getting runs and prove everybody wrong. When you are talented, it is your job to prove people wrong," India's first World Cup-winning captain said.
Dev was responding to a question on the young Delhi 'keeper being benched as the think-tank opted for K L Rahul to don the big gloves in the second and third ODIs of the recent ODI series against Australia and the first T20 against New Zealand on Friday.
"The players have to look after themselves. They should never give the option to the selectors to drop them or give them a rest."
The former captain was in the city in connection with the promotion of the upcoming film, '83', based on India's historic victory in the 1983 World Cup in England.
On Rahul being handed the 'keeper's job in place of Pant, he said it is the team management's call.
"It is the team management's call. I don't know about these things. It is not my decision. The team has to decide who opens, who bats at No. 3 etc," he added.
Asked about the Indian fast bowlers getting injured often these days, he said, "When you play 10 months in a year, you will get injured."\
"You have to look after the fast bowlers. The conditions and weather in India is more challenging than other parts of the world. The team management will have to take care of them," he added.
On whether he was worried about all-rounder Hardik Pandya's frequent injury issues, Dev, in his typical style, said, "Pandya has to be worried. He should be worried about how fast he can get fit and come back into the team. That's important. He has to look after himself."
Queried about calls for former skipper Mahendra Singh's retirement, Dev said it will be "our loss" whenever he retires.
"He has served the country so well for so many years. One day, he has to retire. It will be sooner or later. He has to go at some time. He is not playing matches. So I don't know when he is going to come out and say he has had enough.
"It will be our loss whenever he retires," the great said.
