MS Dhoni's Stature Huge, Unfair To Compare Rishabh Pant To Him, Says Bharat Arun

MS Dhoni might have left his captaincy role but he still remains the go-to man for the Indian cricketers, including skipper Virat Kohli. Not only as a captain, MS Dhoni has also led by example behind the stumps, pulling off several timely stumpings and guiding his bowlers against opposition batsmen. India bowling coach Bharat Arun also believes Dhoni's stature is huge and he should not be compared with young Rishabh Pant.

Arun's comments comes after Pant, who is only four One-Day International (ODI) old, was criticised by fans for his sloppy show behind the stumps during the Mohali ODI. So much so that fans even chanted MS Dhoni's name every time Pant made an error on the field.

"Unfair to compare Dhoni and Pant. Dhoni's stature is huge. He is a legend. His work behind the stumps is exemplary," Bharat Arun said at the pre-match press conference.

"MSD is a huge influence on the team. We will be trying out different combinations. Not necessarily these combinations will be in the World Cup. Any mistakes, hiccups have to be now. We are extremely cautious," he added.

Commenting on the previous match, Arun said Australian batsman Ashton Turner (84 off 43 balls) must be given credit for his job and he is happy with the way the Indian bowlers have bowled.

"If you see, the success of our bowlers, it has been more than 75 per cent. These things do happen (last game) and I am happy that it happened now and it shows us areas where we can improve before the World Cup.

"You should give credit to the knock Ashton played. Dew played a crucial role -- but I am not trying to give excuses. Didn't bowl as well we had planned for him, but we will comeback stronger," he said.

Arun was also full of praise for both Kedar Jadhav and all-rounder Vijay Shankar.

(With IANS inputs)