Rishabh Pant, an Indian batsman and wicketkeeper, says he always played with the goal of winning games for his nation and that it’s crucial to push boundaries as a child since there will be time later in life to unwind.
Pant claimed that the COVID-19 outbreak caused him to take his life and cricket career more seriously.
“I lost my father when I was very young but at the same time it teaches you to take responsibility in a positive way,” Pant was quoted as saying by PTI in Mumbai on Monday.
“That made me really strong but one major part of getting serious came after the COVID-19 (pandemic)… when you are playing as a youngster, you are not really thinking about your financials and you are only focussing on playing cricket.”
“In my mind, I only wanted to play for India and that was the only dream, just to win matches for India. The rest, I feel, is a by-product of it,” he said.
Pant asked the young people to put in their best effort while acknowledging that work-life balance exists in all spheres of life.
“My focus in life has been very singular in a way (that) I feel you have to mad about something to make it crazy. That’s something I believe in,” he said.
“Nowadays, we talk about work-life balance, I think people need to understand that first you need to work hard, go crazy about your work and there will be (a) time in life when you can relax and chill back. But as a youngster, it is the best thing to push your limits because there is a lot of time to recover.”
“Once you go to (ages) 35 or 45, you would want to have (a) more secured thought process and planning but before that, just grind it out from bottom to top. Everywhere you go, try to learn and something beautiful comes out of it,” he added.
In order to have freedom of performance, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja emphasized the significance of security in every profession.
“It’s important to have security. In cricket, you can play your shots only when you know your place in the team is secure. Similarly, every field needs to have the element of security,” he said.
