He is a left-hand batter. He is from Delhi. His surname is Pant.
That’s perhaps reason enough to get excited about Pranav Pant, an all-rounder who recently earned his maiden India U-19 call-up for the U-19 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates beginning on November 29. Pranav, a top-order batter who also bowls left-arm medium-pace, has been rewarded for his impressive displays in Delhi’s U-19 set-up over the past year.
“This India U-19 call up gives me extra motivation. I have been wanting to play for India U-19 for the last couple of years. Now that I have got a chance, I hope to do well,” Pranav told Sportstar over the phone on Tuesday night.
Not surprisingly given the parallels with Rishabh Pant, Pranav, who turned 18 on Wednesday, looks up to the star wicketkeeper-batter for his attacking strokeplay. Rishabh, too, was once a member of the Indian U-19 team before transitioning to the senior level and turning himself into an integral member of the Test team in particular.
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“I used to copy a bit from everyone. But from the time I saw Rishabh bhaiya, I liked his batting style a lot,” Pranav said. “In terms of mindset and work ethics, I look up to Virat Kohli. Bowling wise, I like Dale Steyn a lot. I first saw Rishabh bhaiya from up close at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) around three years ago. Then when I moved from the U-16 to U-19, I had again gone to NCA for a camp. He was recovering from his accident there. He used to play table tennis with us and be really nice to all of us.”
The teenager’s breakout performance at the U-19 level came in the Cooch Behar Trophy last year when he struck 292 for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh.
“It is my best knock so far. It was my first double hundred in state cricket,” he said. “I had an average performance in the season until then. Before that, I had made three fifties but no hundreds. It was the last game of the season for us and I was promoted to open. I had been playing in the middle order. So, I cashed in and was called up to the NCA as well after that.”
Pranav’s family has its roots in Uttarakhand, but he was born and brought up in the bylanes of west Delhi, a region of the national capital that has produced many notable cricketers. Locally, he plays for a club called Golden Hawks under coach Kuldeep Rawat in tournaments organised by the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA).
“I first saw him playing around 5-6 years ago for his school in some tournament,” Rawat recalled. “A friend of mine asked me to have a look at him. Three years back, we were hunting for youngsters who can play for our club. He is doing very well and has a good future.”
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