There is little bit of Mahi in Rishabh Pant: R Sridhar

Ever since Rishabh Pant made his debut in international cricket, comparisons have been drawn between the southpaw and legendary MS Dhoni. Both these keepers like to play aggressive cricket and are the finishers of the game. Thus, it was easy for people to draw a comparison. However, when it comes to captaincy, the youngster still has a long way to go.

Even though the 24-year-old has big shoes to fill, India’s former fielding coach R. Sridhar believes that he has the quality and flair of Dhoni. Sridhar, who’s currently associated with the Bangladesh cricket team, believes that Rishabh idolising Dhoni played a huge role in shaping the way he plays his cricket.

“There is a little bit of Mahi in him. Obviously, when you grow up idolizing somebody, they tend to become a part of you. You can see a bit of Mahi in Rishabh. And rightly so, because he grew up idolizing the great man,” Sridhar told cricket.com.

“He comes across as very friendly, very jovial. He loves a laugh off the field. He is quite detached from everything else when he is off the field and is very relaxed; someone who likes to have fun. He loves his other sports. A wonderful bloke,” said Sridhar about Rishabh’s personality off the field.

Still no end to Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant saga in Indian cricket

Even though Dinesh Karthik played all the matches against Australia in the recently concluded series, head coach Rahul Dravid is still reluctant to answer who’ll start for India in the T20 World Cup. The 49-year-old commented that the team will take a call after assessing the playing condition, situation and opposition in the T20 World Cup.

“There’s no first-choice wicketkeeper in the side… We play according to the conditions, situation, opposition and what we feel is the best XI. There’s no such a thing as first choice playing XI for every single condition. That will vary. On that day against Pakistan, we felt Dinesh was the right choice for us,” said Rahul Dravid.