Here's what Yuvraj feels on Pant's comparison with Dhoni
Young Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been subject to comparison to MS Dhoni of late and is being deemed as a possible candidate to replace him in the Indian team going forward. While critics are split on whether or whether not to compare him with Dhoni, former Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh has given his take on the issue.
Like most of the critics, even Yuvraj feels that it is unfair to compare Pant with Dhoni as of now. He also feels that it would take at least a year or more to find a suitable replacement for the latter. "There is one year to go for the T20 World Cup so that is still a long time," said Yuvraj in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj asserted that in order to get the best out of Pant, one needs to understand his psychology, and not suppress 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," opined Yuvi.
Pant has been criticized for playing irresponsibly, especially for his immature shot selection. Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was vocal about it following his poor outing in the ODIs against Windies last month, where he could only manage just 20 runs in three matches. He also managed to score just 19 runs in the just-concluded T20Is against South Africa.
Meanwhile, Dhoni is on a sabbatical from the sport following the conclusion of India's ICC World Cup 2019 campaign. Dhoni has missed India's limited-overs campaign against Windies and South Africa so far, while he is also set to miss it against Bangladesh in November, having extended his break until the month. Consequently, it could be an indication that he won't continue for long.
While Pant's position in the team continues to be under question, chief selector MSK Prasad has said that back-ups are already being groomed for him. "We have the young KS Bharath doing well in the longer format for India A. We also have Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson doing well in the shorter formats for India 'A' and domestic cricket," Prasad had quoted.
