'Comparison not a part of my life': Pant loses cool over Sehwag question amid lean patch

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has remained in the headlines lately due to his struggle with scoring runs in the white-ball format. A video of the 25-year-old’s conversation with renowned cricket pundit Harsha Bhogle is currently going viral on social media, where the batsman can be heard being miffed with a Virender Sehwag-linked 'comparison' query. Bhogle sought answer to a question while referring to the comparison between the player’s record in red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket.

While the conversation started with Bhogle asking Pant about the India vs New Zealand series being constantly interrupted by runs, it went toward Rishabh’s approach while playing the ODI as well as T20I formats. The Delhi Capitals skipper said that players have to pre-meditate their strategies in the T20 formats, as Harsha put forward the next question. “I asked a question to Viru (Virender Sehwag) many years ago, I will ask it to you today. Looking at you, it seems like you would have a special touch in white-ball cricket, but your Test record is the best,” Bhogle enquired. 

'You can compare once I'm 30-32': Pant 

As Bhogle went on to ask indirectly why Pant's Test figures looked the best as a white-ball player, Pant instantly responded, “Sir records are just numbers according to me. Even my white-ball records are not so bad."

While Harsha clarified that he is only speaking about the comparison, the wicketkeeper further added, “Comparisons karna toh apne life ka part hi nahi hai. Abhi mein 24-25 ka hu, Comparison karna hai toh ap, jab mein 32-33 ka ho jaunga tab karna. Usse pehle toh koi logic nahi hai mere liye. (Comparisons are not a part of my life. I am 24-25 years old now, if you want to compare, do it when I am 32-33. It doesn’t make any sense to compare before that)."

Rishabh Pant's struggles with the bat in 2022

It is pertinent to mention that Rishabh Pant has faced heavy criticism for cricket enthusiasts lately for his poor run form in the white-ball formats. Playing 11 ODIS in for India in 2022, Pant has scored 326 runs, while registering one century and two fifties. In the T20 format, Pant has registered only 364 runs in 255 games at an average of 21.41 and a strike rate of 132.85. 

He came out to bat for the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian ODI squad for the 3rd ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday and was dismissed on 10 runs off 16 balls. Cricket fans on Twitter have expressed that Rishabh needs to rest from the squad due to his poor form. Fans have also questioned why Pant receives regular chances, while players like Sanju Samson are constantly left out of the playing XI.