Published 23:31 IST, December 9th 2019

Brian Lara backs Rishabh Pant, says Dhoni and Pant 'Totally Different' players

West Indies legend Brian Lara came out to support Rishabh Pant and said that he is a totally different player than Dhoni and should be given some time to mature

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
null | Image: self
Advertisement

With a series of below-par performances, young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been under scanner for a while w and has been facing a lot of heat from Indian cricket fans, especially with T20 World Cup in sight. Despite possessing some brilliant talent and powerful slogging skills, Delhi-lad has faced severe criticism for poor shot selection and for losing his wicket carelessly. Recently, skipper Virat Kohli backed Pant and said that it was disrespectful to chant 'Dhoni, Dhoni!' when he underperforms and showed confidence in wicketkeeper's ability.

After Kohli, legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara also came out to support Pant and said that he is a totally different player than Dhoni and should be given some time to mature. 

Advertisement

READ | MASSIVE: WADA Bans Russia From All Major Sporting Events Including Olympics For 4 Years

Lara backs young Pant

Veteran West Indies batsman, Brian Lara, while speaking at a show said, "Rishabh Pant came into game with a lot of aggression and created a lot of excitement. However, Indian public expects someone to replace MS Dhoni immediately without realising that he is a totally different player." He added, " World Cup is merely 8-9 months away and team might decide to select ar keeper for tournament but excessive pressure on him is unnecessary." Lara also agreed with Captain Kohli who had earlier backed Pant and added that wicketkeeper should be allowed to mature. In second T20I against West Indies, Virat Kohli had expressed his displeasure when crowd started chanting Dhoni's name as Pant dropped a catch while India was fielding. Pant also mand to score 33 runs in first innings of game and remained t out. 

Advertisement

READ | Virat Kohli Loses His Cool Over 'MS Dhoni' Crowd Chants As Rishabh Pant Drops Catch

'He is young'

"He is young and he has that energy and enthusiasm, he plays in IPL, and he plays for India and is just living his dream. re will be a lot of critics around him, he's only 21 (22)," Pietersen said on a TV show. He added that former players and experts criticise Pant because y want him to learn from his mistakes."I observed him very closely during IPL and he kept making same mistake and when you do that continuously n pundits, experts and people who have played game want to criticize you because you should be learning from your mistakes. "

Advertisement

READ | 'Rishabh Pant Needs Time To Mature', Says Former English Skipper Kevin Pietersen

READ | MS Dhoni Is All Set To Produce A TV Show And Its Topic Will Make You Proud

Advertisement

20:22 IST, December 9th 2019