Rishabh Pant's form has been questionable for a long time and comparisons with former Indian captain MS Dhoni is like a burden on the young player feels legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara.
Rishabh Pant's form has been questionable for a long time and comparisons with former Indian captain MS Dhoni is like a burden on the young player feels legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara.
"Rishabh Pant came into the game creating a lot of excitement, he had a lot of aggression and the Indian public expects someone to replace (MS) Dhoni immediately and in the same fold but he is a totally different player," Lara said while speaking at Star Sports' Nerolac Cricket Live show.
“I know the time is critical with the World Cup just 8 or 9 months away and they may even go with another keeper but the excessive pressure on him is unnecessary,” Lara added.
India skipper Virat Kohli had also backed Pant saying that the wicketkeeper-batsman has the confidence of the team management.
"We certainly believe in Rishabh's ability. As you say, it's (also) the player's responsibility to do well, but our responsibility is to give him space, to support him. He should get support and it is disrespectful if you don't get it," Kohli had said.
Backing the Indian skipper's statement Lara said, "I agree with captain Virat Kohli on supporting Pant as this is a very successful Indian team and I remember the West Indies team 30 years ago we had guys in there who weren't performing well but they were kept in the team because the team was doing very well.
“We had all the great players but you never heard about Gus Logie or Carl Hooper because they weren't doing that well but they were allowed to mature and I feel Rishabh Pant should be allowed to mature".
The 21-year-old had replaced Dhoni in the limited-overs and has been criticized for his batting, wicket-keeping skills or even his reviews.
In the recent T20I game against Bangladesh, the young lad had received a lot of flak after India lost their first-ever game to the visitors.
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 "Brian Lara, MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant")
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