India Vs West Indies: Virat Kohli backs under-fire Rishabh Pant, says won't let the wicketkeeper feel isolated

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Hyderabad, Dec 5: Backing under-fire Rishabh Pant, India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday (December 5) said that he wouldn't let the young wicketkeeper-batsman feel isolated. Pant has been under the scanner for a while due to his inability to convert starts and for erratic work behind the stumps.

The 22-year-old often finds himself at the receiving end for making poor DRS calls and several former players stated that he is fast running out of time. However, ahead of the T20I series against the West Indies, Kohli threw his weight behind the Delhi cricketer.

"We certainly believe in Rishabh's ability. As you say, it's (also) the player's responsibility to do well but our responsibility is to give him space, to support him. He should get support and it is disrespectful if you don't get it," he said.

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"As Rohit (Sharma) said recently, he needs to be left alone, he is a match-winner. Once he comes good, you will see a very different version of him. He can't be isolated to such an extent that he doesn't do well. We are here to do things for him," he added.

The youngster, meanwhile, will have a chance to surpass MS Dhoni's record of most dismissals in T20Is between India and West Indies. He currently has three dismissals from seven T20Is played between India and West Indies while Dhoni leads the list with five from seven matches in the T20I format. The left-handed batsman will have the chance to get past Dhoni's tally as he is likely to feature in all the three T20Is.

India and the West Indies will compete in a T20 and ODI series, each of which comprises three matches.