Heena Sharma Blog

What do you do when you have enormous shoes to fill? For one, you steer clear of blunders. Not Rishabh Pant . Widely seen as a natural successor to MS Dhoni in the India cricket team, Pant in 2019 got a great opportunity to prove his mettle and seal his place in the squad. But, given his many misses, he has yet to give the team management enough confidence. As Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection after the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier in the year, all eyes were on the Delhi southpaw who is known for his power-hitting abilities and a decent fare behind the stumps. However, as a batsman he squandered many a good start, and as a wicket-keeper he did little to stand out. Doubtless, the youngster would have been under immense pressure of expectations. There are no two thoughts about his abilities as a young player and the backing of seniors and former players. Even the recently-appointed president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly heaped p...

India skipper Virat Kohli has insisted that young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant -- who is seen as the successor to M.S. Dhoni -- is the future of Indian cricket and he needs to be given the space so that he can use his skills well and perform on a consistent basis for the team. Pant, who had attracted criticism for his shot selection in the first two T20Is, on Tuesday showed some spark in the final match which India won by seven wickets to clean sweep the three-match series. The left-handed batsman played a winning knock of unbeaten 65 off just 42 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes as India chased down the target of 147 with four balls to spare. "We are looking at him (Pant) as the future. He has got a lot of skill and a lot of talent. It is about giving him some space and not putting too much of pressure," said Kohli -- who shared a 106-run stand with Pant -- after the match. "He's come a long way since he's started. It's about winning and fi...

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was Wednesday brought in as cover for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in India's World Cup squad. Pant, whose omission from the original squad became a topic of heated debates given his stupendous form in the past one year, will reach here Wednesday. His arrival will be a day before India's game against New Zealand and he won't be considered a replacement till the time the team management takes a final call on Dhawan's availability for the rest of the tournament. "Rishabh Pant is being flown in from India as cover at the request of the team management," a senior BCCI official currently in England told PTI. The 21-year-old is one of the most exciting players to have emerged in Indian cricket. He impressed with Test hundreds during the tours of England and Australia earlier and was in fine form during the IPL last month. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Acknowledging Rishabh Pant 's consistent performance, the BCCI has rewarded the young wicketkeeper-batsman with a grade A retainership while demoting senior opener Shikhar Dhawan from the elite A plus category in the latest list of Central Contracts. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the annual contracts late on Thursday night, handing retainership to 25 cricketers in four groups of A plus (Rs 7 crore), A (Rs 5 crore), B (Rs 3 crore) and C (Rs 1 crore). Last year 26 players were handed contracts. Not only Dhawan but pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been dropped from the highest-paying category and now only three players -- skipper Virat Kohli, limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma and premier pacer in all formats speedster Jasprit Bumrah -- figure in the elite category. While left arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batsman Hanuma Vihari are new entrants in the C group. Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Vijay Shankar, who have made impression in Tests an...

India skipper Virat Kohli maintained his top spot, while young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and pacer Jasprit Bumrah attained their career-best positions in the latest ICC Test rankings . Kohli gained 14 points to reach 934 points after a valiant first-innings knock of 123 in the second Test at Perth which Australia won by 146 runs to level the four-match series. The India captain has thus increased his lead over New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson from seven to 19 points. Pant gained 11 places to secure the 48th spot while India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane moved up two places to progress into the top-15. In the bowlers list, Bumrah achieved a career-high ranking of 28 while fellow teammate Mohammad Shami moved two places to 24th. Read More Business Standard