India’s focus will be on self-improvement: Rishabh Pant ahead of Bangladesh series

 Rishabh Pant warned against taking Bangladesh lightly in the upcoming two-Test series. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant warned against taking Bangladesh lightly in the upcoming two-Test series and stressed on the need for India to keep improving themselves to stay ahead of the competition.

Bangladesh, who recently blanked Pakistan 2-0 at Rawalpindi, will face Rohit Sharma’s side in the first Test at Chennai from September 19 before moving to Kanpur.

India will play a total of 10 Tests within the next five months as the series against Bangladesh will be followed by three Tests against New Zealand at home in October-November before moving to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka perform well in Asian conditions because they are accustomed to the wickets,” Pant said.

“As the Indian cricket team, we focus solely on our own standards and how we can improve. Regardless of the opposition, we strive to play with the same intensity and give our 100 percent every single day,” he said.

Pant said no series can be taken lightly with the margins between the teams decreasing in international cricket.

“Pressure will always be there because in international cricket, you can’t take any series lightly. The margin between winning and losing is very small, and nowadays, the gap between international teams isn’t much either,” he said.

Pant said playing in the Duleep Trophy ahead of a long season of Test cricket will give the players quality match practice while young cricketers at domestic level will benefit from the presence of international stars.

The opening round Duleep matches got underway here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and at Anantapur on Thursday.

“It is very important for us to play domestic cricket because as a cricketer, match practice is always very important,” he said.

“Especially coming back to domestic cricket, the youngsters also learn a lot of things from us — they see you playing here even after playing international cricket. There is a lot to give back to domestic cricket.” “It also gives us the opportunity to share all the learning and experiences from international cricket with our colleagues, especially with the young players and newcomers; it gives them a huge boost since we all have reached here from playing domestic cricket,” Pant added.

Pant, who is playing for Team B in Duleep Trophy, said he was looking forward to getting back into domestic cricket as this is his first red-ball game after December 2022.

“It is an amazing feeling for me, also because when I met with the accident two years ago, I used to always think about when I will be able to play for India again,” he said.

“In the last six months I (have) played IPL and we (have) also won the World Cup. It’s a great feeling as I had always dreamt of winning the World Cup since I was a kid.”