'You have to be mentally strong': Gautam Gambhir on how Pant can handle criticisms

Gautam Gambhir has said that Rishabh Pant should be mentally tough to handle criticism. youngster was seen as a successor to legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni after he h been on a sabbatical from game post World Cup 2019. neless, a string of poor performances with both bat as well as gloves meant that he ended up inviting criticisms from fans as well as a handful of experts. 

Rishabh was sidelined from team after he suffered a concussion during home ODI series against Australia earlier this year as a result of which KL Rahul was me a makeshift wicket-keeper and continued to don gloves in away limited-overs series against New Zealand that followed.  Even though 22-year-old was roped in for two-match Test series for same tour, he could t do anything exceptional after making a comeback.

'You have to be mentally strong': Gautam Gambhir

“You can hit as many balls as you can and as long as you want to, but you have to be mentally strong to face those criticisms. Because criticism will always be re and how you want to approach game going forward, 4-5 months of break obviously freshens you up mentally and physically as well but going forward let's see how he copes up with criticism as well,” said Gambhir while interacting on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

“I think skill-wise you need to keep improving, but mentally you have got to get stronger as well when you have to play international cricket and if you want to become a very successful international cricketer as well,” 2011 World Cup winner ded.

Rishabh Pant in IPL 2020 & Team India's next assignments

southpaw was retained by Delhi Capitals for 13th edition of cash-rich event that will be played in UAE from September 19 to vember 8. complete fixtures of tournament will be anunced by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) next week. Capitals h finished third last season after losing to eventual runners-up CSK in Qualifier 2. At same time, a new look Delhi franchise (formerly kwn as Delhi Daredevils till 2018 edition) h also me it to playoffs for first time after seven years. 

Meanwhile, Team India's next two away limited-overs bilateral series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe respectively have been called off due to coronavirus fear. However, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly h confirmed earlier this month that India's tour of Australia for a four-match Test series will take place as per originally scheduled Future Tours Programme (FTP). series gets underway on December 3.

(Im Courtesy: AP)

RE: 'Great Talent Getting Wasted': Kirti Az Backs Rishabh Pant To Have A Successful Career