West Indies Vs India: It's Time For Rishabh Pant To 'Unleash His Potential', Feels Virat Kohli

With MS Dhoni's future still uncertain, Rishabh Pant will be India cricket national team's first-choice wicketkeeper in the T20I series Vs West Indies. The first match is on August 3, at Florida's Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 3 August 2019 11:06 am

India cricket team captain Virat Kohli feels that Rishabh Pant should " really unleash his potential" in the upcoming T20I series Vs West Indies. The first match is today – August 3 – in Florida's Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground.

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Speaking in Lauderhill, Kohli said, "It's a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage".

With MS Dhoni's future covered by a sheet of opaqueness, Pant will be the first choice wicketkeeper in the upcoming West Indies tour.

"We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS Dhoni's experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it."

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The upcoming match is the Men in Blue's first outing since the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinal exit at the hands of New Zealand. "The first few days after we exited the World Cup were quite difficult. Till the time the tournament got over, every time we woke up it was the worst feeling in the morning. Then through the day you do things and sort of get on with your life. We are professionals. We move ahead. Every team has to move on," said Kohli.

"So we are quite okay with what happened in the World Cup. Yesterday the fielding session and the little bit of time we spent on the field was really good. Everyone was excited, looking forward to just playing, just being on the field again. I think that's the best thing you can do as a team, just get on the park as soon as possible," he added.

India could not train ahead of the match due to rain. "I think the covers look the same," said Kohli.

"We haven't seen the pitch, we haven't seen anything apart from the covers on the pitch. When we play tomorrow, we can assess how the pitch has come along. Even last time we played, it was pretty good, high-scoring, and we all had a lot of fun playing here, and this time is going to be no different."

(PTI Inputs)