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Cricket PlayersSanjay Manjrekar's ‘responsibility personified’ comment on India's Rishabh Pant draws attention
Explaining the reasons behind his different take, Manjrekar said it would not have been possible for Pant to play those knocks in Test cricket if he wasn't responsible enough. Pant is the only Indian wicketkeeper to score Test hundreds in England, Australia, and South Africa.
Despite all the matches that Rishabh Pant has already won for India in his short career so far, he has often been criticised for being irresponsible and throwing his wicket away. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar however, has a different opinion on the India wicketkeeper-batter. Manjrekar feels Pant is one of the most responsible and calm cricketers going around. "He (Pant) was responsibility personified; he was calmness personified," Manjrekar said Sports18’s show ‘Sports Over the Top’.
Explaining the reasons behind his different take, Manjrekar said it would not have been possible for Pant to play those knocks in Test cricket if he wasn't responsible enough. Pant is the only Indian wicketkeeper to score Test hundreds in England, Australia, and South Africa.
“No, he’s always responsible. He may seem irresponsible sometimes when he gets out, when he gets out playing one of those kinds of shots, we’ve got to look at it as somebody getting out at slips because the game has changed and that is Rishabh Pant’s primary sort of skill. He’s got to sound different but when he extends himself, he tries these shots. The winning runs, for example, it’s a part of his basic attacking, and array of shots that he has. So, responsibility wise I think this guy is just incredible because of the kind of record he has in test cricket. You can’t play those kinds of shots if you are not responsible by nature, wanting to win the game and in this one day as well you could see him. I got very excited watching Rishabh Pant because there’s something about this country, that we keep producing these kinds of batters every generation,” Manjrekar said.
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Apart from the common irresponsible criticism, Pant has also drawn flak for not being able to translate his Test form into limited-overs cricket. The left-hander, however, took a step in the right direction on Sunday, slamming an unbeaten 125 - his maiden ODI hundred - to help India chase down the 260-run target to win the three-match ODI series.
India were four down for not many when Pant and Hardik Pandya put together a match-winning 133-run partnership to bail India out of trouble and then put them in the ascendency.
“Yes, just hoping that Hardik can keep his fitness together. No issues with Rishabh Pant. What we saw in that last one day, I was completely floored by the sheer talent and ability of these two guys, temperament as well built a long partnership and how easily, in the end, India won. Thanks to Rishabh Pant for staying there till the end. So yes, high-quality batters, and they’re going to be batting mostly at number 4 and 5 whether it’s T20 Cricket or 50 overs cricket or Pant could be opening as well. In 2019, we had a lot of issues finding a proper middle order but now we have some quality supply," Manjrekar said.
