Finally, we have a cricket match where MS Dhoni’s team will take on Rishabh Pant’s side. Even though this is an Indian Premier League (IPL) game, it is symbolic of the two eras coming together in Indian cricket.
Dhoni of course, has surpassed all expectations as a player as well as the captain of the Indian team and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). On the other hand, Pant is living up to all expectations and now suddenly finds himself leading a high-profile team like the Delhi Capitals (DC). If this season is possibly Dhoni’s swan-song in the IPL, Pant’s era in Indian cricket may truly begin now.
‘We have not had another Kapil Dev yet. Can we say the same about Dhoni?’
Just before the start of the last IPL season, this writer had asked the same question to former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, who is very close to Dhoni and someone Pant always turns up to. “I don’t agree. You might get, you never know. Everyone said after Sachin Tendulkar, who’ll come? After Gavaskar who’ll come? But you never know from where you get these cricketers. Rishabh Pant can become the most dangerous wicketkeeper-batsman in world cricket. He’s got great potential,” More prophesied.
Whatever doubt anyone may have had regarding Pant’s future, has now disappeared. The Delhi wicketkeeper is having an extraordinary 2021 and his franchise would be hoping to ride on the captain’s luck and his great run with the bat.
While Dhoni’s journey from Ranchi to the superstardom of Indian cricket was never simple, he did not have to go through any constant comparison with any icon. Yes, once in a while fans wished him to do what Adam Gilchrist used to do for Australia, but largely, Dhoni was allowed to play freely during his formative years for Team India.
Pant had to endure this Dhoni comparison so much that Virat Kohli had to once come out publicly in the youngster’s support. “If he misses a chance or something, you know, people can't shout MS' (MS Dhoni) name in the stadium, it's not respectful if I have to put it that way, because no player would like that to happen,” Kohli said in December 2019.
However, it wasn’t often that Pant was backed by Kohli unflinchingly. In fact, Kohli has been criticized for not being able to handle such a precocious talent appropriately. This writer distinctly remembers a conversation last year with former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith who is now an enviable voice of cricket broadcasting in Christchurch. Pant was neither part of the T20I matches nor ODI series on that tour and make-shift keeper KL Rahul was preferred over. That move had baffled Smith.
“We are going to see a lot about Pant. It’s not about just playing the game but living the game. Maybe he has to learn a few things and they (team management) are teaching him the virtue of patience,” Smith said.
Like More, Smith could also see something special in Pant a lot earlier than many of the experts who are now in awe of Pant’s talent. “The name of Rishabh Pant will be bigger in Indian cricket. Mark my words. Dhoni has been a great leader and a great finisher but time moves on and at some stage you have to accept that new generation will get the chance,” Smith added.
Dhoni and Pant as wicket-keeper and as batsmen are as different as any natural right hander from the left-hander. However, one thing which is common among them is the unshakable self-belief which can overcome any odds or any technical imperfections they may have had in their respective games. “Dhoni was a different style of a cricketer in that he played the situation, whereas Pant plays a lot more by the seat of his pants — if you excuse the expression. Dhoni went ballistic as the last resort. For Pant, it is the first course of action,” former England captain Nasser Hussain recently wrote in his column in the UK’s Daily Mail.
“Rishabh Pant is an incredible, game-changing talent. Arguably, a series-changing talent. If he hadn’t batted in his no-fear style, if he lacked any self-belief, then India would not have won that match in Brisbane that completed their greatest ever series victory,” Hussain wrote.
As much as anyone wishes, the Dhoni comparison is not going to fade away until the great man is still active in IPL. “It feels amazing when you compare someone like MS Dhoni. It feels good for me to be compared with him. But I don’t want me to be compared with anyone. I want to make a name for myself in Indian cricket. That's the only thing I am focussed on. Because it's not too good to compare a legend with a youngster,” Pant had said after his arrival from Australia and calmly played-down all the comparison talk which would have made a very articulate Dhoni proud.
While Dhoni would like to finish with one more IPL trophy which can make a fairy-tale end to a glorious career in IPL, Pant would want to win the championship for his karmbhoomi Delhi which may eventually take him to the seat which gave Dhoni immortality – captaincy of Team India.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
