Rishabh Pant gave a fitting reply to all his critics who ever doubted his talent after seeing his poor form with the bat. His stunning show with the bat in the recently-concluded Australia series impressed everyone as well. Howveer, the young wicketkeeper-batsman said that he was "feeling the heat each and every day" even after cutting himself off from everything.

Pant came in the squad in the second Test and showed his class during the Test matches in Sydney and Brisbane and took the team home after failing to do so by a whisker in the third Test which eventually ended in a draw. His knocks of 97 and 89 played a key role for India in their way of victories as well.

"I was feeling the heat each and every day, it's part and parcel of the game. But as an individual you need to believe in yourself," Pant, a key player in the team's 2-1 series triumph, told India Today. "If you're moving forward then you're improving, this is what I've learnt during the tough phase. Focus so much on your game that you don't notice anything else. It's difficult also to block the outside noise because of social media but I have segregated myself from it."

"When you're doing well people will write good but when you're not, they will criticise you. It's part and parcel of a cricketer's life nowadays. So if you don't focus on the criticism and instead focus on your cricket then that's much better I guess," he further added.

However, his hard work paid off as he finished the four-match Test series as the third-highest run-getter with 274 runs from three games. While chasing a record target of 328 to win the match as well as the series in Brisbane Test, Pant said that he has the target of a win as a draw was never in the scene for him.

"The mindset was always to play normal cricket, even the team management spoke about it in the first innings. Let's look to score runs, cash in on the loose balls, just stick in there and do whatever you can at that time," Pant said. "The team management's plan from the beginning of the match was 'let's look to win the match'. Even my thinking has always been to win. I just want to win every game, draw is always the secondary option."

Currently, Team India are preparing for their next series against England at home, starting from the next month.