THE CRISIS MAN OF INDIA

- Anirudha R Nijagal

India went through a rough patch in the home conditions against New Zealand. Barring the absence of Mohd. Shami, India were playing their full strength squad that was coming back from a series win against Bangladesh. This NZ series was an eye opener to world cricket that Indian players who are grown up in the rank turners playing typical spin conditions all their life are only as good as the batsmen from other countries. Gone are the days of Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly who used to master playing any spin attack in any conditions.

Yes, there was a Centurion in the series. Yes, the talented youngsters like Jaiswal & Gill showed their class. But there was a lone flag bearer for India who put his hands up every single innings, put up a statement with his fearless approach. The man never batted with a strike rate less than 100.

Rishabh Pant carried the Indian team on his shoulders, proving that he is the best batsman for India in Tests. Bengaluru, Pune & Mumbai, Rishabh Pant battled out in every venue showcasing his dashing fashion. When he is batting and India are trailing, it looks like the deficit keeps dieing down so easily. Technically sound batsmen failed on these tough spinning wickets, aggressive batsmen who love to go all the way from ball 1 couldn't do their thing for long, but the this man Pant made India beleive that if he's there at the crease there's an assurance that the team can comeback from any situation. He has a 100 in England, He has a 100 in Australia, and now he's proving his worth playing on such tricky spinning tracks. The future of Test Cricket is right here. Take care of him, BCCI. Thank you for making the Indians smile in the phase where there was not even a single situation to smile for the home side.

THE CRISIS MAN OF INDIA - We've got RISHABH PANT!!!