Rishabh Pant needs to come out of MS Dhoni's shadow for him to find his feet in international cricket, said MSK Prasad. (File Photo)Since MS Dhoni’s exit from the international circuit, there has been a close competition for the wicketkeeper position in the Indian national team. Rishabh Pant was expected to fill the position, but his lackluster show both with the gloves and the bat has opened doors for the others to join the race.
In limited-overs it has been KL Rahul, who has fulfilling the duties behind wickets, and in Tests, the management have stuck with Pant and Wriddhiman Saha.
Gautam Gambhir has now joined the debate and the cricketer turned politician feels that Pant cannot be compared with Dhoni.
In an interview to ESPNcricinfo, Gambhir said: “First of all, you have to stop saying that Rishabh Pant is the next MS Dhoni. That is one thing which media needs to stop doing it. The more media talks about it, the more Rishabh Pant starts thinking on those chances. He can never be MS Dhoni. He has to be Rishabh Pant.”
“MS Dhoni probably had so much of range when he came on to international sixes. With Rishabh Pant, only because he could hit those big sixes and stuff, people started comparing him with someone like MS Dhoni. Rishabh Pant has a lot to improve, especially from the keeping point of views and from the batting point of view as well,” he added.
Dhoni is one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsman India has produced. The Jharkhand-based cricketer holds numerous records to his name and in addition, the 39-year old has led the Indian team to two world championship titles.