NEW YORK:
Rishabh Pant turned emotional after his return to the Indian senior men’s cricket team following a hiatus of 528 days. In a video released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Pant expressed his ecstasy following a net session with the other members of the India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“Getting back on the field with the Indian jersey on is a different feel altogether and this is something I have missed a lot,” said Pant. “I think seeing the teammates, meeting them again, spending time, having fun with them (something I really missed) and I am really enjoying it.”
The wicketkeeper-batter also opened up on ICC ‘s move to organise a marquee tournament like the T20 World Cup in the USA. He opined that the decision can help in garnering more attention and fan following for the sport.
“We are used to playing in certain countries but this is a different prospect. It has opened a different channel for sport because I feel cricket is growing around the world and getting in a country like USA and getting the exposure here would be nice for cricket as well as for USA cricket.”
The T20 World Cup venues in the USA are going to use drop-in pitches for the entire course of the tournament and hence Pant believes it is indispensable for the players to acclimatise as soon as possible.”New pitches are there, everything is getting set up. Just getting used to the conditions I think the sun is a bit more brighter over here so just getting used to it. (On the opportunity to play in the World Cup) Hopefully I make it count,” he added.
The southpaw has the opportunity to improve his T20 World Cup numbers which do not make for a good reading. Pant has played seven T20 World Cup games in his career so far and aggregated just 87 runs at a strike rate of 122.53.
