Rishabh Pant as dominant as Yuvraj and Sehwag, attests Suresh Raina

The scrutiny that comes with the possession of an abundance of talent can be brutal, and over the past 18 months, none more so than youngster Rishabh Pant has felt the effect of it. Paraded as the successor to MS Dhoni’s throne, Pant’s path in international cricket - after a successful start in the red-ball format - has been a thorny one and he has seemingly come under heavy criticism for not making the most of his talent. 

But despite the frustration surrounding Pant’s consistency, there has seldom been doubt about his ability as a batsman and on Monday, Suresh Raina restated his sentiments about the youngster. Raina, who was a part of the World Cup winning squad in 2011, stated that Rishabh Pant’s stroke-making ability was second to none and compared the 22-year-old’s dominance to the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag.

“He is a top cricketer, when he plays well, you become happy and he reminds of Yuvraj and Sehwag, he is as dominant as them, when he plays the flick, it reminds you of Dravid as well,” Raina told Chahal during an Instagram Live session.

Having last played international cricket for the country two years ago, Raina’s decline over the past 18 months or so has meant that he’s never been seen by Virat Kohli as a potential option for the national side. But despite only having played 15 ODIs under Kohli, the CSK man had words of encouragement for the Indian skipper and lauded the former’s leadership for the sheer passion and energy he brings to the table.

“Virat is a solid captain, he has a lot of energy, he can control things, when you are playing shorter formats, you need a lot of energy and passion.”