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Adam Gilchrist Advises Rishabh Pant Not To Be Another MS Dhoni
By Shruti - Nov 6, 2019 1:21 pm
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Former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist asks Rishabh Pant not to be the next MS Dhoni and instead should work on improving his own skill and be the best version of himself. However, Pant has been criticised by many for his poor form – be it batting or wicket-keeping. Even Gilchrist believes everyone should avoid comparing Pant with Dhoni.

pant
Rishabh Pant

“I’m not big on comparisons, like I have said before. I think Indians fans shouldn’t be trying to compare him to Dhoni. Dhoni has set such a high benchmark. One day someone might match it but it is probably unlikely,” Gilchrist said. “Rishabh looks like a very talented young player. Just don’t put too much pressure on him too early and expect that he’s going to produce Dhoni-like performances every day. My advice to Rishabh Pant will be: learn everything you can from Dhoni. Don’t try to be Dhoni. Just try to be the best Rishabh Pant you can.”

While speaking about the challenges which Test cricket is currently facing now, the former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman said that it has a “strong passive” following.

“Test cricket in this day and age will always have challenges because in a fast-paced world, five days of Test cricket doesn’t seem a natural fit. It is surviving on the back of the innovations of T20 and earlier one-day cricket. There’s a room for it,” he said. “Hopefully, the players’ intent to play Test cricket remains the same for a long time.”

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Gilchrist further spoke about the idea of Day-Night Test and World Test Championship as well.

“I think why the ICC has come out with Test championship to add meaning to each and every Test…It will be very interesting to see whether the fans and the players find it relevant over the cycle,” Gilchrist said.

Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist

“I am not sure it will get more fans attending Test matches. I think the days of consistent crowds of Test cricket are probably gone. The big marquee series like India-Australia and the Ashes will still garner a decent crowd. There’s still a very strong passive following of Test cricket. But, according to him, efforts should be made to keep Test cricket engaging both for the fans and players. So, we have to wait and see whether the Test Championship and Day-Night Tests are well and truly here to stay,” he further added.

India are all set to play their first-ever Day-Night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata from November 22-26 at the Eden Gardens and the former Australian player believes that this will be successful in attracting people.

“I expect there will be a Day-Night Test when India visits Australia for the tour next time. I was a bit reluctant with Test cricket initially. But now I can see that the positive outcomes of Day-Night Test will help Test cricket. There are going to be issues, particularly in India with the dew. It will take a bit of time to work out which venues will host the Day-Night Test,” Adam Gilchrist concluded.