Don't see if I'm doing good or bad, I just focus on my game: Rishabh Pant
London: Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant believes that the most satisfying part of his Test cricket experience so far is that his “processes are working” in the format and that he could completely trust his game.
The 21-year-old said that doing good or bad is not a matter of concern for him but making his processes work is.
"I just focus on my processes. I don't see whether I am doing well or badly. Because results obviously matter, but at the end of the day, your processes are important. Whatever processes have brought me here, I need to focus on that. On my work ethic, on how much time I devote to wicketkeeping process, what I need to do before matches," Pant told ESPNcricinfo.
The most satisfying part of my Test experience is "that my processes are working. That I can trust my game."
Pant played his first Test match last year in England, a country which is considered as tough when it comes to wicket keeping and facing fast bowlers. The left-hand batsman, however, has a different take on it.
“You face all these bowlers in the IPL. Domestic cricket has these same bowlers. Just that the ball moves a lot more in England. But that's okay, there's always a first time. But I can say that as a wicketkeeper, when I played India A matches and then against the Lions, I had a fair idea of what to expect,” he said.
Pant was guilty of conceding byes during the Test series against England but added that “if you see those byes, you will know whether 90% of those should be called byes or whatever.”
During India’s Australia tour, Pant’s behind the wicket banter with batsmen caught the attention of many. When asked if he, at any point, felt that he could land in trouble due to same, Pant said that he was just a part of hard, competitive cricket and never abused anyone.
“Yeah, I was aware, but there is no way I could land in trouble. I never abused anybody. It was normal, hard, competitive Test cricket. You keep saying those things because you want to play with the batsman's concentration. It was good banter. Personally, I never felt that I crossed any line,” he said.
The cricketer is all set to appear for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ahead of the tournament, he asserted that their only focus is to lift the trophy.
“There have been quite a few changes. The support staff has changed, players have changed, the name has changed. I feel we can do something different this time. At the start of the season we are only focusing on how we can win the trophy,” he said.
Pant has played a total of nine Test matches scoring 696 runs with an average of 49.71. In T20Is, he has scored 229 runs at a rate of 22.9 in 13 matches that he has played so far.
