MS Dhoni was not made in a day: Yuvraj Singh urges Team India to be patient with Rishabh Pant
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said the Indian team management needs to understand Rishabh Pant's thinking process and work accodingly to help him overcome the lean patch in international cricket.
HIGHLIGHTS
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said the Indian team management needs to understand Rishabh Pant's thinking process and work accodingly to help him overcome the lean patch in international cricket.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Yuvraj Singh said Rishabh Pant shouldn't be compare to MS Dhoni
- How they get the best out of Pant is completely based on his character: Yuvraj
- Pant has been under pressure due to lean patch in international cricket
World Cup-winning former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has said supressing Rishabh Pant's natural ability is not the right way forward when talking about the young wicketkeeper-batsman's recent struggles in international cricket.
Yuvraj Singh said the team managament needs to understand Rishabh Pant's thinking process and work with him to get the best out of the wicketkeeper-batsman who is touted to be MS Dhoni's successor in limited-over's cricket.
Rishabh Pant has been under the pump for his "careless" approach in international cricket, especially in the white-ball format. While Rishabh Pant got the backing of the team management and selectors for more game time after MS Dhoni took a sabbatical post the World Cup, the Delhi wicketkeeper's returns have been a cause for concern.
After struggling to get going in West Indies, Rishabh Pant go out for 4 and 19 in the recently-concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka. More often than not, it was Pant who gifted his wicket away without putting a price on it.
The team management's latest stance on Risahbh Pant became clear when Ravi Shastri said "there will be a rap on his knuckles" if he continues to make the same mistakes.
Stressing Rishabh Pant needs to be given an extended run in international cricket, Yuvraj Singh said there's still a long way to go for the T20 World Cup in 2020.
"MS Dhoni was not made in a day. It took a few years so it will take a few years for a replacement also. There is one year to go for the T20 World Cup so that is still a long time," Yuvraj Singh said as quoted by IANS.
"How they get the best out of Pant is completely based on his character. You have to understand his psychology and then work with that. If you are going to suppress him, you won't get the best out of him. Yes, he has been given a number of chances but how do you get the best out of him. The people monitoring him in the team -- the coaches, the captain -- can make a lot of difference," Yuvraj added.
Meanwhile, former India opener Gautam Gambhir said he was not happy with the recent statements made by the team management on Rishabh Pant. Notably, India's newly-appointed batting coach Vikram Rathour insisted that youngsters in the team needs to understand there's a fine line between "fearless" and "carless" approach while talking about Rishabh Pant's returns in international cricket.
"Personally, I have always backed Sanju Samson ahead of Rishabh for wicketkeeper-batsman's role but it is disappointing to see the team-management using words like 'from fearless to careless', 'rap on Rishbah's knuckles' and 'need for a backup of Rishabh'," Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.
It will be interesting to see if Rishabh Pant continues to don the gloves for Team India in the upcoming Test series against South Africa. With Wriddhiman Saha showing signs of return to form after his long injury-layoff, the young wicketkeeper-batsman might be handed a break to accomodate the senior pro.
