India defeated West Indies in their final T20I match of the three-match series (in Guyana's Providence Stadium on August 6) to complete a whitewash, with Rishabh Pant finally answering with his bat with a 65-run knock (not out). Captain Virat Kohli feels that the 21-year-old is one for the future and needs time to show his full potential.
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Pant is widely expected to succeed MS Dhoni as India's main wicketkeeper-batsman, although he has been widely criticised for his shot selection. In Guyana's Providence Stadium, he came with an excellent batting display.
"We are looking at him (Pant) as the future. He has got a lot of skill and lot of talent. It is about giving him some space and not putting too much of pressure," Kohli said.
"He's come a long way since he's started. It's about winning and finishing games like these. In international cricket, you need to tackle pressure differently. If he plays like this regularly, we will see his potential shine for India," Kohli said.
He also praised Deepak Chahar. "Deepak is similar to Bhuvi. With the new ball, Deepak's skill is up there with Bhuvi. Bhuvi however has more experience at th death. Swing has been his (Deepak) USP in the IPL too. He is really lethal with the new ball - puts the batsmen in real trouble," the captain quipped.
Hoping to continue to this momentum into the ODI series, he added, "It was a clinical performance. We wanted to try out players but priority was to win games. Deepak was great, Bhuvi professional as always. The wicket over here was much better than the one in Miami. West Indies got to a decent total because of the wicket, but we were professional with both ball and bat."
Kohli also feels that West Indies ODI team is stronger than its T20I team. He said, "We want to be as professional as possible in the ODIs and Tests. We want results, to win games of cricket. The Windies ODI team is even stronger, so it will be hard work, but we will try to have fun as a team for a month."
(PTI Inputs)
