Ajay Jadeja recalled Pant's confidence in his abilities while playing for Delhi in domestic cricket.
Former Indian cricketer, Ajay Jadeja, shared an interesting four-year-old conversation with Rishabh Pant, who scored an unbeaten 89 runs to help India conquer Australia’s fortress, Gabba, and win the 2020-21 Test series 2-1 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
After being promoted up the order Rishabh Pant played a responsible knock of 89 runs and ensured that the visitors end on the winning side. Pant’s powerful and aggressive strokeplay also helped India register their second consecutive Test series win Down Under.
However, former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja shared his experience with Pant during the southpaw's Delhi days and said he takes risks in Test cricket as well.
"I think that's the experience I have had with him. Every time there are questions on how he plays and I completely agree with that. He takes risks even in Test match cricket,” Ajay Jadeja told Sony Networks.
Talking about the incident, Jadeja said that he had asked Pant to come and practice in the nets despite being not picked for the Delhi team, and Pant's answer was something that left Jadeja awestruck.
“It was that day in Delhi, he wasn't picked in the side. I happened to be around him and asked him 'Why don't you come to nets tomorrow. You can practice even if you are not picked in the squad'.
He said, "Paaji jab jarurat padegi ye ghar se bulaenge (They will call me from my home when they will need me). That has stayed on with me. That was almost 4 years ago, that was before he got picked up for Delhi. In a Ranji Trophy game someone else was picked ahead of him," he said
Ajay Jadeja, 49, further was pleased with the young generation of cricketers and said that they are ruthless and fearless in approach and they play as per their wish and not to please someone around them.
"That's the mindset these young kids have today. They believe if they are good, there is nobody in the world to stop them. They don't want to play, everybody else wants them to play, they don't play to please people around them. They play how they wish to play.
Pleasing others who are writing, talking about cricket, these kids don't think about it. They just believe in themselves, they put out their beliefs on one simple thing, 'I Know what is best for me'. I just love the way this Indian team plays," he said.
With his 274 runs, Rishabh Pant was the highest run-scorer for India in the fourth-match Test series. The former also broke MS Dhoni's record to become the fastest India wicketkeeper-batsman to score 1.000 Test runs.
(Sony network inputs)