Rishabh sheds light on Kohli's influence over cricket journey; 'He can take you through..'

Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant spoke to ICC ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne, Australia, and made notable revelations about the high-octane match. While shedding light on the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan last year, he spoke about his 53-run stand with then-skipper Virat Kohli. Pant ended up scoring a  quickfire knock of 39.

Hoping to rekindle his batting repertoire with Kohli at MCG this Sunday, Pant revealed how Kohli influences the cricket journey of youngsters. As reported by ICC, the 25-year-old said Kohli can teach individuals about going through situations, which helps players in the cricket journey in the future. "It’s good to have someone with a lot of experience batting with you because he can take you through how to take the game on and how to maintain that run-a-ball pressure kind of thing,” Pant added.

Rishabh Pant speaks about his stand with Virat Kohli vs Pakistan in 2021 T20 WC

During the India vs Pakistan match at the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE, India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss to Pakistan after setting a target of 152 runs. While Kohli scored 57 off 49 and Pant scored 39 off 30, no other India batter managed to cross the 15-run mark. Speaking about the match, Pant remembered smacking Hasan Ali for two sixes in a single over. 

"We were just trying to get the run rate up because we lost early wickets and we staged a partnership – me and Virat. We were increasing the run rate and I smacked him for two sixes with one hand... my special shot,” he added. Having said that, Pant is currently fighting with his compatriot Dinesh Karthik for the wicketkeeper’s role in the playing XI. However, both Pant and Karthik can feature in the XI if the Indian team management decides to bolster their middle order for the match.

A look at Rishabh Pant's recent form

Pant has been struggling with his form in recent times and will be hopeful of getting over the woes if he gets a chance to play in the upcoming World Cup. He featured in the India squad for the two warm-up games against Western Australia, earlier this month and managed to score 18 runs in two games. The big-hitting youngster has scored 38 T20I runs in 21 games this year at an average of 26.00 and 136.84.