Rishabh Pant is slowly becoming the voice for the bowlers post the retirement of MS Dhoni and the 23-year-old can be heard giving instructions to bowlers and fielders. The Indian wicket-keeper batsman is not only known for his aggressive batting but also his stump mic chatter which has gone infamous ever since his run-in against the Australian team in 2018/19. The Indian wicket-keeper was his usual boisterous best during the ongoing test series against England.
Rishabh Pant runs the show behind the stumps
Ever since the retirement of the great MS Dhoni, the Indian team looked for a wicketkeeper who could assume control of the happenings on the field of play and help the bowlers understand the required lengths and the lines to be maintained to the batsmen. Pant is also entrusted with the task of keeping the spirits and morale of the fielders high when things are going tough for India.
Rishabh Pant with words of wisdom for Ashwin and Axar Patel
The Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant’s vocal skills were on full display during the first three test matches of the ongoing series against England. During the first test when the morale of the Indian team was down he could be heard chirping at the Indian fielders to get their morale high and keep their heads up during Joe Root’s marathon knock. Pant can also be heard encouraging Ashwin and tell him where to bowl and when the wind picked up he was heard telling the veteran off-spinner about the same. Axar Patel who made his debut for India during the second test at Chennai too was helped by Pant on many occasions calling him Wasim Akram for Patel’s ability to hurry batsmen off the pitch. In fact, during the first innings of the English innings with the visitors on the mat and Ben Foakes batting the Indian wicket-keeper spotted his opposite number look uncomfortable against spin, and Pant was heard telling Axar Patel “zara sa ball ghoomega toh mazza aa jayega! (will be fun if the ball turns a bit)
Rishabh Pant has certainly started to make his voice heard behind the stumps and is now one of the most important members of the Indian team and is slowly stepping into the huge shoes of MS Dhoni.
You can hear Rishabh Pant and his stump mic chatter in the video embedded below