Rishabh Pant has sent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans into a frenzy after professing his admiration for the city of Chennai. Pant’s recent comments have sparked a wave of excitement among the yellow brigade, with many dubbing him ‘Thala Pant’, a reference to the iconic CSK captain MS Dhoni.

In an interview following his remarkable return to Test cricket, Pant spoke about how special Chennai is to him.

“Definition a lot special, firstly I love playing in Chennai and secondly after injury I was looking to play all three formats, this was my first match in this format and hopefully I did better.”

“Definitely it was emotional, I was looking to score runs in each and every game. Coming back to Test cricket where I belong the most, being on the field gives me pleasure more than anything else. I don’t know what people say outside, I tried to read the situation in my own way, when you are 30-3 you need to stitch a partnership and that’s what I did with Gill. To do it with a guy who I have a great relationship with is special.”

As Pant continues to shine on the international stage, CSK fans are already dreaming of a future where he could potentially be part of their IPL squad. While there is no official confirmation of such a move, Pant’s ‘love for Chennai’ has certainly set imaginations running wild.

Meanwhile, skipper Rohit Sharma also hailed Pant’s knock with the willow and said, “He’s been through some really tough times. The way he has managed himself through those tough times was superb to watch. He came back in the IPL, followed by a very successful World Cup and this is the format he loves the most. For us, it was never about what is he going to do with the bat, we always knew what he had with the bat and with the gloves as well. It was just about giving him the game time.”