ONE FOR THE FUTURE!

In an era where fitness is the most emphasized aspect of the game, it was very rare to see a 18 year old with a bulky physique in the Indian Under 19 team. Rishabh Pant is one of the biggest prodigies and probably one of the strongest teenegers Indian cricket has ever seen. He burst onto the scene when he smashed his way into the Indian Under 19 team. He caught everyone's attention with an innings of 74 off 28 balls against Nepal. A few days later he blasted a 96 ball 111 to fire India into the semifinals. A 1.9 crore IPL contract and an incredible domestic season with Delhi was about to follow in which he scored the fastest century in the Ranji Trophy history. Another innings that stood out was a triple hundred at the Wankhede Stadium, a part of which I was fortunate enough to witness.
     A couple of aspects of his technique are quite unique. Obviously he is a very hard hitter of the ball but it looks as if he tries to hit the ball too hard and in the process loses all his balance. But the thing which gets him out of jail is his incredible hand-eye coordination. If his eye wasn't good, he wouldn't have been  the cricketer he is. Though he is very strong in the 'V', he can play the pull very well and we saw how he can manipulate the field when he scooped a couple of balls over the short third man for four. Is he a 360° player? No I think that would be an overstatement!
     Although he is quite a clean striker of the ball, things can go messy when the pitch is sluggish. We have seen him struggle in the West Indies in his debut T20 when he couldn't quite get off the blocks. But right now he is probably playing better than he has ever been and it's the perfect time for him to hand his ODI cap. Everyone including himself knows that he won't be behind the wickets untill MS calls time but I don't think there is anybody who can raise a finger or question his place in the side as a pure batsman. Only time will tell whether he makes it to the Indian team this summer or not. All I know is this young man is a very special talent and is surely one for the future.