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Brian Lara Feels Rishabh Pant Is Different From MS Dhoni
By CricShots - Dec 9, 2019 6:22 pm
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The young Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant played an unbeaten knock of 33 in the second T20I against the West Indies, which India lost by eight wickets, in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. He had managed to score a quickfire 18 in the series opener in Hyderabad on Friday, following a total of 33 runs in the recent three-T20I series against Bangladesh and 23 in the two-match T20I series against South Africa.

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Rishabh Pant dropped Evin Lewis’ catch

With 2020 T20 World Cup approaching, Pant has come under some serious criticism as experienced MS Dhoni is currently on a sabbatical from cricket and India seek a perfect combination for the mega event, to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15. The batting legend, Brian Lara backed Pant by saying that he is “a totally different player” than Dhoni and should be allowed to mature with time.

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Speaking on a show, Lara said, “Rishabh Pant came into the game creating a lot of excitement, he had a lot of aggression and the Indian public expects someone to replace (MS) Dhoni immediately and in the same fold but he is a totally different player. I agree with captain Virat Kohli on supporting Pant as this is a very successful Indian team and I feel Rishabh Pant should be allowed to mature.”

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MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant

In the recent T20I series against Bangladesh, Pant was mocked by the spectators with chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni”. Kohli has backed Pant, saying such an act is “not respectful” and it’s a “collective responsibility for everyone around” to help the wicketkeeper-batsman improve.

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Ahead of the West Indies series, Virat said, “We certainly believe in Rishabh’s ability. He should get support and it is disrespectful if you don’t get it, If you look at all the mistakes he (Pant) has made and the position he is in, with the team and Virat backing him and with MS out at the moment, he does have a long way to go. He will be looked upon on his performance and he is 21, so will he be able to buy the time to be an absolute superstar in Indian cricket is what we need to see, and I think he actually can.”

The third and final T20I of the three-match series will be played in Mumbai on Wednesday.