WATCH: Virat Kohli explains how MS Dhoni’s absence is Rishabh Pant’s perfect opportunity

Dixit Bhargav | 03/08/2019
WATCH: Virat Kohli explains how MS Dhoni's absence is Rishabh Pant's perfect opportunity

Kohli explains how MS Dhoni’s absence: The Indian captain was vocal about the veteran cricketer’s absence during India’s tour of West Indies.

India captain Virat Kohli believes that T20 cricket has it in it to grow its roots in American culture. Speaking on the eve of first T20I of India’s tour of West Indies, Kohli expressed his optimism regarding more cricket finding a place in this new territory.

“I think T20 cricket is something that can be understood and accepted in the American culture because of the length of the game and it’s quite entertaining as well. So, I think for the sport to become global in many ways, a lot of interest here will go a long way in achieving that for the sport.

“Hopefully in years to come, we’ll have more tournaments and more series here where people just come in and start understanding the sport and just having fun like they do in any other sporting event here,” Kohli was quoted as saying.

Kohli explains how MS Dhoni’s absence is Rishabh Pant’s “perfect opportunity”

With former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni not in the squad, India will be relying on rookie wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant to perform the duties behind and in front of the stumps. Being asked about Dhoni’s absence, Kohli considered it to be a “perfect opportunity” for the 21-year old southpaw to unleash his potential.

“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. We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team.

“MS’ [Dhoni] 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,” Kohli added.

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Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
India India tour of West Indies 2019 MS Dhoni rishabh pant Virat Kohli

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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