Irfan Pathan believes that a 'little bit of kick on the back' will do Rishabh Pant a world of good

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons that youngsters like Rishabh Pant will benefit a lot from the from the forced break the cricketing fraternity has had to take due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pathan believes that they will regain their confidence after being away from the spotlight.

“If you talk of Rishabh Pant, he is a young guy, very talented, there was a lot of focus on him. So the focus getting removed from him, it will do a world of good to Rishabh Pant and many other cricketers,” Pathan said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

Pathan said that the players will have recovered physically as well as mentally in this hiatus. He further said that this will help players on the brink of retirement to continue playing for another couple of years.

“Lot of people will benefit from this break. I feel there will be a lot of cricketers whose career was at stake but would get revived now because they would have recovered mentally as well as physically, especially players who are 35-36 years of age their careers might get extended for a couple of years.”

Irfan Pathan thinks that Rishabh Pant is getting too much backing

The premier all-rounder went on to say that too much of backing is being given to Rishabh Pant and the skipper, Virat Kohli, is showing his support towards Pant openly. Pathan said that once a player is put through hard times and if he is talented enough, he will emerge on top.

“Sometimes you are getting too much backing which Virat Kohli is backing him in the public eye as well, but I think when you get a little bit of kick on your back, that’s when if you have talent you are going to go big,” Pathan said.

Rishabh Pant has been ousted from the playing eleven after the emergence of KL Rahul as a wicket-keeper. Since then, Pant has been under pressure to perform consistently to cement his place in the team. Pathan feels that this will be an added impetus for Pant to perform well.

“I have no doubt that even though all the pressure is coming on him, he had to miss out some matches in T20 cricket with KL Rahul going out and doing what he did as a wicketkeeper as well and that is going to put pressure, but I think that will do a world of good to Rishabh Pant.”

Meanwhile, the IPL is all set to be hosted in the UAE with the tournament expected to begin at the end of September. Rishabh Pant will ply his trade for the Delhi Capitals and is expected to play a key role in their campaign this season.

Earlier, the IPL had been postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. However, it seems that the 13th edition of the IPL might finally come to fruition.