Rishabh Pant challenges MS Dhoni to IPL battle - Watch

With the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League about a month away, Delhi Capital’s wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has thrown down the gauntlet at the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni

cricket Updated: Feb 23, 2019 19:49 IST
Rishabh Pant. (AP)

With the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League about a month away, Delhi Capital’s wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has thrown down the gauntlet at the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Pant played a crucial part in India’s historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia. He hammered 350 runs in the four-match Test series—second only to Cheteshwar Pujara’s tally—and was instrumental in helping the visitors register their first ever Test series win Down Under in 71 years of touring.

Pant has been widely billed as the successor to Dhoni in the national team across all three formats of the game once the veteran hangs up his boots.

In a latest promotion video for the upcoming IPL campaign, Pant is seen flaunting the new jersey of the Delhi Capitals—who have been rechristened from Delhi Daredevils—and throwing down the gauntlet at the long-serving Chennai Super Kings skipper Dhoni.

Pant says, “Mahi bhai na guru ke samaan hain. Agar Mahi bhai nahi hote na, pata nahi mai wicketkeeper-batsman hota, nahi hota (Mahi bhai is like a teacher. If Mahi bhai wouldn’t have been there, I don’t know if I would have been a wicketkeeper-batsman).

“Lekin is baari unki team pe main aisa barsoonga ki captain cool, cool nahi rahenge. Mahi bhai tayyar rehna, game dikhane aa raha hoon (But this time, I will rain down at his team so hard that captain cool won’t remain cool. Mahi bhai be ready, I’m coming to show you the game).

Dhoni is shown giving a staunch look at the camera having watched Pant’s video.

Pant shared the video on his Twitter account with the caption, “Mahi Bhai, Sab aap se seekha hai, toh aap ke saamne game toh dikhana banta hai! #VIVOIPL mein milengey - Kya kehte ho @msdhoni.”

The 12th edition of the IPL begins 23 March with the first match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

First Published: Feb 23, 2019 19:45 IST