Hyderabad: India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday threw his weight behind the under-fire Rishabh Pant, asserting that he wouldn't let the young wicketkeeper-batsman feel isolated as he battles a slump in form. Pant has been under the scanner for a while due to his inability to convert starts and for erratic work behind the stumps. He recently also drew flak for poor DRS calls and several former players stated that he is fast running out of time. But ahead of the T20 International series against the West Indies starting here on Friday, Kohli fully backed the 22-year-old, saying it is the team's collective responsibility to support Pant in the trying times.

"We certainly believe in Rishabh's ability. As you say, it's (also) the player's responsibility to do well, work hard and I agree but I think it's a collective responsibility of everyone around us as well to give that player some space to do that," he said. "If he misses a chance or something, people can't shout. It's not respectful because no player would like that to happen," he added.