Rishabh Pant joins elite list of youngest players to lead India in men’s T20Is: Dynamic glovesman Rishabh Pant on Thursday added another feather to his cap as he made his maiden appearance as the skipper of the team India in the shortest format against South Africa. Rishabh Pant replaced KL Rahul as the leader of the peck after the latter was ruled out of the home T20I series due to a right groin injury.
The 24-years old cricketer said it is one of the glorious moments of his cricketing career as he walks out for the flip of the coin in India colours.
“It is one of the proudest moments in my cricketing career so far. Because a Delhi boy getting that (captaincy) honour at Delhi is a huge thing for me,” Pant said at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Rishabh Pant has joined the elite list of cricketers who have captained team India in the T20Is in the early part of their career. Pant becomes the second youngest (24y 248d) player to lead India in the 20-over format.
Suresh Raina leads the race (23y 197d) followed by Rishabh Pant (24y 248d) and MS Dhoni (26y 66d). Meanwhile, he has also joined the list of wicketkeepers leading team India. Pant becomes the fourth Indian wicketkeeper to captain India after Syed Kirmani, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni.
Youngest Indian captains in men’s T20Is
23y 197d – Suresh Raina
24y 248d – Rishabh Pant* (today against South Africa)
26y 68d – MS Dhoni
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INDvsSA 1st T20I:
Talking about tonight’s ongoing match between India and South Africa. The hosts have piled up a total of 211 runs in the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs. Opener Ishan Kishan was sensational at the top order, scoring 76 runs in just 48 deliveries. Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad (23 runs), Shreyas Iyer (36 runs), Rishabh Pant (29 runs) and Hardik Pandya (31* runs) also made significant contributions.
South Africa have lost their skipper to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the third over of their inning. Temba Bavuma had departed after scoring 10 runs. South Africa has scored 26 runs in the loss of 1 wicket in 3 overs.
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