Please leave Pant alone, says Rohit

Nagpur, November 9

Stand-in India captain Rohit Sharma has strongly backed the under-fire Rishabh Pant, urging critics to “leave him alone”. Pant, whose shot selection has come under the scanner on several occasions, became the centre of unwanted attention due to his poor glovework in the second T20 against Bangladesh in Rajkot. He botched up the stumping of Liton Das in the 

sixth over as his hands were slightly in front of the stumps when he dislodged the bails.

“You know there is a lot of talk happening about Rishabh Pant every day, every minute. I just feel that he needs to be allowed to do what he wants to do on the field,” Sharma said on the eve of the T20I series-decider here. “I would request everyone to keep their eyes away from Rishabh Pant for a while.”

“He is a fearless cricketer and we (team management) want him to have that freedom. And if you guys take your eyes off him for some time, it will allow him to perform even better,” added Sharma.

Not so long ago, Pant was the preferred choice in all three formats, but Wriddhiman Saha played ahead of him in the three Tests against South Africa at home last month on the basis of superior glovework. “He is a young guy, 22, trying to make his mark in international cricket. Every move he makes on the field, people start talking about him,” Sharma said. “It is not fair. I think we should allow him to play his cricket which actually he also wants to do.” 

“Focus on him a lot more when he is doing good things also, not just bad things,” he added. — PTI