Team India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant has gained quite a reputation for his behind-the-stumps banter over the last few months. The 23-year-old Southpaw’s jovial attitude and constant chirping make him one of the more exciting glovemen to listen to during live matches.
Rishabh is all set to earn his much-deserved shot at leadership during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, as he’ll be leading the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Shreyas Iyer’s absence. Captaincy aside, fans are also hoping to see Rishabh continue his rich vein of batting form from international cricket.
In the recently concluded 3-match ODI series against England, the DC stand-in captain compiled 155-runs averaging 77.50. A breakthrough captaincy season with the bat can propel Rishabh to the top of the Indian pecking order.
Captain Rishabh Pant teases Sam Billings for not hitting the ball
In the meantime, though, it doesn’t seem like the added responsibility of leading the team has had an effect on Rishabh’s talkative nature. Over on a recent Instagram video on DC’s Instagram account, Rishabh was seen sledging teammate Sam Billings. While keeping, Pant made several humorous observations about Billings not hitting the ball.
“Welcome to India. The bowling’s much better than the test matches here in Chennai”, captain Pant informed batsman Billings. And when the bowler finally managed to bowl Billings out, he had some parting words of wisdom. “Someone is not hitting”. Even the DC social-media mods captioned the video with “@rishabpant can’t resist himself behind the stumps, even during practice.”
.@RishabhPant17 can't resist himself behind the stumps, even during practice ?️?#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #DCAllAccess @SamBillings @OctaFX pic.twitter.com/yQEV3bXB7j
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 8, 2021
“Excited to see Rishabh as captain”- Steve Smith
Australian former captain Steve Smith had some high words of praise for his new Delhi captain. Smith himself was in the reckoning for leading Delhi after Shreyas got ruled out of the tourney with a shoulder injury. Delhi, however, opted to go with a young Indian option, and from the looks of it, the ex- Rajasthan Royals captain is more than happy to play under Pant’s leadership.
Also Watch: Ellyse Perry puts brilliant effort to save six
“I’m excited to see Rishabh (Pant) as captain. I think he is an incredible player, as we have seen over the last few months. He has taken his game to a new level, and I think captaincy will suit him really well. So, excited to work underneath him, and hopefully, we can have a successful season,” Smith opined on an Instagram Q/A session.