Australia series turning point of my life: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant says the tour of Australia in 2020-21 is the "turning point of my life" as he helped India save one game and win another despite taking painkiller injection after struggling to hold the bat. The 24-year-old Pant played two of his greatest knocks in the last two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane as an injury-ravaged Indian team recorded an incredible come-from-behind Test series triumph. However, all was not well with Pant prior to that as the swashbuckling keeper-batter was dropped from India's limited-overs set-up before the 2019 ODI World Cup. Speaking to Indian women's team cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues on Dream11's YouTube channel, Pant recalled how he stopped talking to everyone after being dropped from the squad.

"I was not talking to anyone, not even family or friends. I needed my own space. I just wanted to give my 200 percent each and every day." Describing that as the lowest point of his life, Pant said: "I was thinking 'what's going to happen now'. I was like 22-23. That was one of the lowest points of my life -- mentally. I was thinking about 'what now'. "Suddenly everything had stopped -- you're dropped from two formats. The noise was becoming bigger and bigger. Everyone kept telling me, 'it's not possible'. But at the same time, I was just sitting there alone, thinking what I can do as an individual." The player, who later managed to turn things around, added on his low phase, "The only thought going through my mind was, you keep putting your hard work each and every day no matter what happens. you give your 200 per cent. we'll take the result, whatever happens. "I was just telling myself, there's no choice but to do it. I had to make India win." Pant was the leading run-scorer in India's 2-1 win