Rishabh Pant is adding pressure on himself trying to emulate MS Dhoni, feels MSK Prasad
Chief Selector MSK Prasad feels that Rishabh Pant is putting himself under undue pressure by trying to prove himself to be MS Dhoni’s heir. Further, the chairman of the selection committee only feels that it disturbs the game of the youngster, who has it in him to bounce back from such criticism.
The 22-year-old keeper all but cemented his place in all three formats after his performance in England and Australia. However, recent dip in form and with the return of Saha, Pant is in dire of performing well to be an automatic starter in the longest format. Further, his place in the limited-overs format is under scrutiny after his failure.
MSK Prasad identified that Pant is taking it upon himself to emulate the MS Dhoni behind the stumps. He further said that it is only adding undue pressure on the youngster himself after the strings of failure in the T20I series against Bangladesh.
"I agree with both the versions of Rohit and Sunny sir. Rishabh is going through a bit of a rough period. He needs a couple of good knocks that can bring him back to his best. I had a discussion with the team management on this and they said that they are seriously working on him to bring him back to his best," Prasad, who is nearing the end of his term, said to the Times of India.
Pant’s comparison to the former Indian skipper began after his exploits in the 2018 edition of the IPL where he was a consistent performer for his franchisee Delhi Capitals. However, Prasad feels that the youngster should continue to back his abilities and instincts rather than trying to compare himself with Dhoni.
"Rishabh should also realise that he has his own identity and he should never compare himself with MSD which I feel is working on his mind. MSD has built his career and image playing for over a decade and a half. His confidence stems from his stellar performances both at domestic and international levels,” added Prasad.