R. Sridhar, India’s former fielding coach, has likened Rishabh Pant to MS Dhoni, and even hailed the young wicket-keeper as a future Indian skipper.
Ever since Pant burst onto the IPL scene in 2016, he’d been touted as the successor to Dhoni; Pant made his India debut in 2017 and spent over two years with Dhoni in the Indian team.
Since then it’s been a roller-coaster ride for Pant as India’s wicket-keeper. He was dropped, picked, dropped again and picked again and he eventually recorded history during the Test series in Australia.
Getting the Delhi Capitals’ captaincy, Pant also ascended to leadership roles in the Indian team. He got to lead India for the first time in June earlier this year, in a T20I series against South Africa that ended 2-2.
Sridhar backs Pant to become India’s captain in the future
R. Sridhar, who spent a considerable amount of time with Pant during his tenure as India’s fielding coach, reserved high praise for the 24-year-old by comparing him with the legend MS Dhoni.
“There is a little bit of Mahi in him. Obviously, when you grow up idolizing somebody, they tend to become a part of you. You can see a bit of Mahi in Rishabh. And rightly so, because he grew up idolizing the great man,” said R Sridhar.
Pant has copped criticism for his IPL captaincy in the last couple of years. Sridhar reckons the youngster will learn with time and experience.
“I think no one is born with all the skills. Any skill that any person possesses is born out of the situation that he has been in and learned. MS grew up playing with adults and elderly kids. That is where he picked up all his cricketing acumen,” Sridhar said.
“Rishabh has grown up in a similar kind of environment. He grew up playing with big achievers. That is where he picks his cricket smartness from. He is going to be a leader in the future. Once he starts separating his leadership from his batsmanship, then that is entertainment confirmed.”
Pant is yet to cement his place in the T20I team and only recently made his first big splash in the ODIs with a century in England. Sridhar is confident of “some serious big stuff” coming from the left-hander going forward in limited-overs cricket.
“It’s good that he has not set the world on fire in white ball cricket, which means there is plenty to come. I can assure you that there is some serious big stuff on the way. We saw what he did in Manchester. If that’s any indication, wear your seat belts. Don’t worry about what has happened in the past. The future is bright,” Sridhar added.
