'Can test yourself in Test': Rishabh Pant spills beans on his love for red-ball format

Team India's first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant revealed that he loves playing the longer format of the game and that the five-day games were the 'real test'. The young swashbuckling southpaw has tasted success in the limited-overs format but is yet to cement his place as the team's first-choice keeper in Tests. Despite a good start in his inaugural Test season, Rishabh Pant hasn't effectively managed to stake a claim for the keeper's role in the red-ball format as he faces cut-throat competition from the experienced Wriddhiman Saha. 

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'I love playing Tests' 

In a live conversation with the admin of Delhi Capitals' social media handle, Rishabh Pant revealed that he loved playing Tests and that they help in testing himself. Recalling his first-class days, Rishabh Pant went on to explain how the four-day games were a comp[letely different affair when it came to the 'real' five-day Tests. The left-handed batsman also recounted his experience during his earlier days when he used to travel to Delhi by road in the night (as Uttarakhand did not have a team then) and said that hard work had to be put in in order to achieve anything. 

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Pant said that seniors such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan help him a lot along with former stars Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. Speaking about his idol Adam Gilchrist, Pant said: "Over a period of time I have realised that you have to learn from your idol but you don't have to copy him. You learn things which you like and can implement in life and cricket. You need to have your own identity." 

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'Ponting gives me full freedom'

He gives me a free hand. He says do whatever you want to do," Pant said during an Instagram chat with his franchise. He also called the IPL 2018 season a "life-changing" one for him.Pant had scored over 650 runs in 14 matches in that IPL at 52.61 and a strike rate of 158.41 with six half-centuries.  "That was a life-changing season for me. I needed that breakthrough which everyone needs," he said.  "The core group always thinks of winning IPL for Delhi. We qualified for the knockouts last time and came third."

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(With agency inputs)