It’s been a while since BCCI has been looking for a successor for wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni. For some time, there had been speculation over Dhoni’s retirement plans and ever since the former captain announced his sabbatical after India’s exit from the ICC Men’s World Cup last year, the board paced up the search for the best suited option for the post of wicket-keeping. Over the time, BCCI has considered many names, however there was one name that emerged every time, Rishabh Pant.
Former chief selector MSK Prasad, who was part of the management responsible for grooming Pant as the wicket-keeper, while speaking in a talk show with Sportskeeda he opened up about why Pant lost his path along the way.
“Every time when Rishabh steps in, he is always compared with MS Dhoni, and probably, he is also getting caught in that euphoria. Many times, we spoke to him that he has to get over it,” Prasad said.
Continuing further he said that the management used to tell him, “Mahi is an absolutely different personality, and you are different, you are also phenomenal, you also have talent, that’s why we are backing you,”
Prasad revealed that along the way, Pant began comparing himself to Dhoni and even started to copy him, forgetting that every player is different and has a personality of their own.
“He always was in this shadow of MSD. He started comparing himself with him. He started sort of copying him, even in mannerisms and all, if you see the way he does all that sort of stuff,” he continued.
During this phase Pant lost his place to KL Rahul in the T20 format during the New Zealand tour earlier this year. In the longer format, Wriddhiman Saha has given him a tough competition.
BCCI’s search for the most suitable successor of MS Dhoni has paced up after the former captain announced his retirement from international cricket on 15th August 2020.