Former Team India skipper MS Dhoni has left a massive void to fill with his retirement from international cricket. Incidentally, he stepped aside from limited-overs cricket from August 15, earlier this year. As the management look to pick the best among KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant – former West Indies captain Brian Lara has named his pick.
Meanwhile, Pant was touted as the replacement of MS Dhoni, but the youngster has failed to offer consistency. The management gave him a long rope but Rishabh Pant has failed to live up to his expectations. Pant lost his ODI spot to KL Rahul earlier this year during the series against Australia.
Since then Rahul has been the first-choice but his wicket-keeping remains under immense debate. On the other hand, Sanju Samson has not fired at the international level. Recently, Brian Lara has voiced his opinion on MS Dhoni’s replacement during Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
“Well, first of all, I would like to say that KL Rahul should not be bothered with wicketkeeping when it comes to that Indian squad. He’s such a great batsman that I feel that he should concentrate on that and put in a lot of runs on the board,” Lara said.
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Rishabh Pant is the No.1 choice to replace MS Dhoni – Brian Lara
Speaking about Sanju Samson, Brian Lara highlighted that his batting technique was exposed to quality fast bowling. He has been time again got out to short pitch deliveries when Rajasthan Royals played outside Sharjah.
“Sanju Samson, who is not ’keeping for Rajasthan Royals, but I do understand that he keeps, that’s one of his main jobs – very classy player, looks good so far in the tournament in Sharjah. I feel there’s a little chink in his armoury in terms of his technique against very good bowling on sporty tracks,” Lara added.
It all boiled down to Rishabh Pant, whom Brian Lara picked as the No.1 contender to fill in MS Dhoni’s shoes. The Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper has done reasonably well so far in IPL 2020 and a good season can almost seal his berth in the Indian team.
“Rishabh Pant a year ago, I would say no, but I feel that he has stepped up in terms of his responsibility as a batsman. Look at how he plays for Delhi Capitals, it looks like he wants that responsibility, he wants that onus on him to score runs, build an innings and get big scores. If he continues that way, I think that he should be the No. 1,” Brian Lara concluded.
