Rest of India (RoI) skipper Rishabh Pant remains unfazed by his recent omission from India’s white-ball squads and aims to use the prestigious Irani Cup fixture against Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir to sharpen his red-ball rhythm. This match serves as a crucial platform for him ahead of the upcoming domestic season and India’s Test assignment in New Zealand. “For me, it’s very simple. Whatever is in front of me, I will give my best. That’s how I play cricket, and I keep it very simple. So whatever opportunity I get, I try to make the best out of it. For me, every game is an opportunity. I want to give my best, and I keep it very simple,” Pant said during the pre-match press conference in Srinagar. While the wicketkeeper-batter remains a fundamental pillar of India's Test match team, he has constantly been overlooked from the white-ball setup. Even though Ishan Kishan was unavailable for the ongoing home ODI series against the West Indies due to Asian Games commitments, the selectors preferred Dhruv Jurel as the backup wicketkeeping option behind KL Rahul. Instead, the Ajit Agarkar-led committee named Pant the captain of the Rest of India (ROI) side for the Irani Cup clash. Despite being reduced to a single format player, the southpaw emphasized focusing purely on the game rather than selector decisions, noting that a long international career naturally comes with ups and downs “I try to give my best every time I take the field, and that has been the key for me over a period of time. Yes, there will be ups and downs. “When you want to have an international career for 15-20 years, you have to go through all these things. So it’s that kind of mindset, and it’s very simple — have the right people to guide you and just keep giving your best each and every time you take the field.” Rishabh Pant credited his long and difficult recovery from his December 2022 car crash with teaching him the immense value of keeping things simple. “See, when you have gone through so much in your life, you understand, you know, keeping it simple is the key. Obviously, when you’re playing for your country, working hard is not optional. You have to work hard, you have to be mentally strong, and you’ve got to keep on learning and keep on improving. And that’s the mindset you want to keep.” “Especially when you’re going through a long rehab, it’s always frustrating. But developing that mindset [not overthinking] is obviously challenging, but at the same time, you know, if you’re playing international cricket, you have to go through challenges,” he remarked. (With IANS Inputs)
