After Rishabh Pant scored a match-winning knock of 65 runs in the final T20I against West Indies to take India to victory, opening batsman Rohit Sharma caught up with the young southpaw after the match and quizzed him on his approach.
In the video shared by BCCI on their official Twitter handle, Rohit asked Pant how he felt taking his team to victory after not particularly faring well in the first couple of T20Is, to which he said, “Rohit Bhai, I have believed in my processes for long. Even though I wasn’t getting scores, I wanted to continue to do that, and today I got the result for it. When I was playing in the middle, I just thought of having good partnerships and then accelerating towards the last 7-8 overs.”
Pant admitted that at times he does get frustrated when his plans don’t come off, but he never stops believing in what led him there in the first place.
“When my game plan doesn’t work, of course there are times when I get frustrated, but I also assess what else I could have done in the same situation. It’s also not necessary that you are always able to execute the right decisions that you are taking. But I just continue to believe in my processes and abilities.”
On the expectations that senior players in the side have from him, Pant said, “Sometimes the expectations make me feel pressure, but sometimes I enjoy it as well. But you get confidence when your seniors and the whole team supports you, knowing that even if you fail for a couple of innings they will back you, and I remain confident of winning the team matches in the future. So the environment as a whole becomes very conducive to a player performing.”
The first ODI between India and West Indies will be played at Guyana on Thursday, August 8.
