India had a tough outing in the T20 World Cup 2021, losing the first two matches and then finding it too hard to catch up with the top two teams despite winning three back to back games convincingly in Super 12 stage of the showpiece event.
The Men in Blue beat Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia to somewhat restore the pride after they got drubbing in hands of Pakistan and New Zealand respectively in the first two matches.
— pant shirt fc (@pant_fc) November 9, 2021
Rishabh Pant, like many young Indian players, could not deliver the goods in the tournament. He was unable to up the tempo of the innings whenever required and as a result, the Indian middle order underperformed.
Pant, however, was trending on the day of the Namibia match, albeit for a different reason.
In a viral video on twitter, he can be seen paying respect to the bat on which he mistakenly stepped on while collecting the ball thrown from the deep, at the stumps.
The Namibia batter stretches to reach the crease and at this very moment, Pant puts his leg on the bat. He quickly touches the bat to pay his respect, as if to apologise to the piece of wood. It is quite revealing of Pant's character, who treats his equipment nothing less than god. The cricket bat and gloves have taken him this far in his career and the gesture showed his gratitude towards them.
The Delhi Capitals captain could not do much with the bat in this mega event but all eyes will be on him when India take on New Zealand at home in a few days time.
Pant has been named in the India T20I squad for New Zealand series which kickstarts on 17 November in Jaipur.
