|| India Correspondent ||
Team India have bounced back quite well in the second Test against England in Chennai and they put up more than 300 runs in the first innings. It came on the back of a century from Rohit Sharma, a fifty from Ajinkya Rahane as well as a half-century from Rishabh Pant.
Pant, who has been in a purple patch in recent times, has maintained his stunning form in the current series as well and his senior teammate Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested on Sunday that he needs to be backed - be it for his keeping or batting. He also believed that the youngster needs a break from all the comparisons as well.
"He was constantly compared with the great MS Dhoni for a long time. Now he gets compared for his wicket-keeping with (Wriddhiman) Saha, this that and all that, sometimes it's just better to give a break and let people build on confidence," Ashwin said.
He continued, "With respect to Rishabh's keeping, the name of the game is confidence right, he has been batting well, he has been working incredibly hard on his keeping as well... And sometimes, when you are constantly being compared to someone who has done well for years, it can be really hard, I really do feel for Rishabh, on a lot occasions, when I am watching games from home where he is playing the white-ball format.
The veteran spinner again shared that he believed in the youngster and said that pant has the ability and that is why he is there and he has no doubt that he will have a bright future as well.
Notably, India lost the first Test by a huge margin of 227 runs. With this, there chances to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) has become tough too as New Zealand have qualified for the final. And, a win in the second Test against England is needed for them as well.