India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant spoke about the upcoming Test series against the Bangladesh national cricket team and said that they want to play with the same intensity. He also highlighted the importance of playing domestic cricket as an international cricketer.
The ongoing Duleep Trophy 2024 has marked Rishabh Pant’s return to red-ball cricket after more than a year. He is part of the India B team but did not have a great showing with the bat on his return as he managed just 7 runs in 10 balls, passing away while attempting to play a big shot.
Rishabh Pant played his last red-ball match for India against Bangladesh in December 2022. After that, he suffered a tragic accident and then returned to white-ball cricket earlier this year. He is now likely to be a part of the Test series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team, starting from September 19.
Bangladesh will travel to India for the two-match Test series. The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team would be very confident as they recently defeated Pakistan in the two-match Test series by a 2-0 margin and would want to do the same in India as well.
Rishabh Pant, speaking about his comeback, said that it is a great feeling to be back after the accident he suffered. He stressed that playing domestic cricket is important as it allows players to share all the learnings and experiences from international cricket and also boosts the confidence of youngsters. Speaking to Jio Cinema, he explained:
“I think it’s an amazing feeling for me, also because when I suffered the accident two years ago, I was always thinking about when I would be able to play for India again. In the last six months, I played the IPL and we also won the World Cup. It’s a great feeling as I have always dreamed of winning the World Cup since I was a kid. Now I am back to red-ball cricket and will be playing my first match in the Duleep Trophy almost after more than two years,”
“I think it’s very important for us to play domestic cricket because as a cricketer, match practice is always very important. Especially coming back to domestic cricket, the youngsters also learn a lot of things from us, they see you play here, even after playing international cricket. There’s a lot to give back to domestic cricket. It also allows us to share all the learnings and experiences from international cricket with our colleagues, especially the youngsters.” “For young players and newcomers, this gives them a big boost as we all came here after playing domestic cricket.”
Irrespective of the opposition, we strive to play with the same intensity – Rishabh Pant ahead of Bangladesh Tests
Rishabh Pant also spoke about the Test series against the Bangladesh national cricket team and said that they want to focus on themselves and give their all for the team. Talking about the challenges of playing international cricket, he explained:
“Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka perform well in Asian conditions because they are used to the wickets. However, as an Indian cricket team, we are solely focused on our standards and how we can improve. Regardless of the opponent, we strive to play with the same intensity and give 100 percent every day.
“I think the pressure will always be there because in international cricket you cannot take any series lightly. The margin between winning and losing is very small and nowadays the gap between international teams is not much either. “However, we have to give 100 percent no matter what, and that mentality has served me well so far,” he concluded.
