While cricket fans are unhappy over Rishabh Pant’s role as a wicketkeeper after he missed two stumpings and one run-out chance during the 4th ODI against Australia, his childhood coach Tarak Sinha has come out in his defence saying it’s unfair to compare him to MS Dhoni.
“Such comparisons are cropping up because, like Dhoni, he (Pant) is also a wicketkeeper-batsman. But it’s unfair on him because it puts undue pressure for him to perform in a particular way, and be like Dhoni. He performs the best when his mind is free,” The Indian Express quoted Sinha as saying. Rishabh Pant missed stumpings of Peter Handscomb and Ashton Turner during the 4th ODI along with a run-out opportunity of latter, which aggrieved the crowd present in the stadium at Mohali.
Sinha also pointed out that Dhoni did not replace a legendary wicketkeeper during his arrival in national team and hence did not face a pressure like Pant has to. “There’s a difference between the Pant of today and Dhoni 14-years-ago when he was making his way into the Indian team. Back then, he did not come with the kind of baggage like Pant has. There wasn’t any legendary wicketkeeper whom he was replacing. The guys back then were either Dinesh Karthik or Parthiv Patel, players younger to him. So, he (Dhoni) was free from the pressure and expectations that Pant is facing today,” Sinha further said.
Sinha also mentioned that even Dhoni missed stumpings and catches during the start of his career and it was selectors’ trust on him which helped him to become a great player later. “Which keeper in the world hasn’t missed a catch or a stumping? Even Dhoni missed catches and stumpings at the start of his career. The good thing is that the selectors persisted with him and did not drop him after one season. He improved with time to become one of the greats of the game,” Sinha explained.
While Indian team is facing absence of consistent middle-order batsmen, Sinha feels that Rishabh Pant will be a good choice in that spot owing to his explosive batting style. “Having him in the middle order will give them the firepower in the death overs. At the moment, we do have stroke-makers in the middle order, but that explosive big hitter is missing — someone who can push the score from 300 to 350. Pant has that ability,” Sinha said.