Former India all-rounder has backed young and dynamic Rishabh Pant as the future captain in the red-ball format of the game. Recently, Rohit Sharma took over the reins after Virat Kohli relinquished his duties after India’s 1-2 drubbing against South Africa earlier this year.
While naming Rohit as the Test captain, the BCCI release mentioned the 34-year-old will also groom the youngsters, who can take the baton forward in the future. With age catching up, Rohit Sharma has only a few years more and India will require someone for the future.
Throwing light on the same, Yuvraj Singh believes Rishabh Pant has the pedigree to lead the Test side. In an exclusive interview with the newly launched channel Sports18, Yuvraj said Pant needs to be “groomed and given time”, describing the wicketkeeper-batsman as a player whose “game has evolved in recent years.”
“You must get someone ready. Like Mahi became captain out of nowhere but they made him, right! Then he evolved. Wicketeeper is always a good thinker because he always has the best view on the ground. I was immature at that age, Virat was immature when he was captain at that age.”
“But he (Pant) is maturing with time. I don’t know how the support staff think about it, but I think he is the right guy to lead the Test team,” he added.
Rishabh Pant has already captained Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He guided the Capitals to the playoffs last season and they have made a good start this season.
“I see Rishabh could be the future legend” – Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj revealed that in his conversations with Pant, he often cites the example of Australian legend Adam Gilchrist, who made 17 Test centuries batting at No.7. Rishabh Pant has already established himself as India’s best wicket-keeper batter and is currently the No.1 choice across all formats.
“You already have four Test hundreds already and you can do that. In terms of best wicket-keeper batsman, I see Rishabh could be the future legend,” Yuvraj Singh concluded.
Rishabh Pant has amassed 1920 runs in 30 Tests at an average over 40 and has four centuries and nine fifties under his belt.
Get the latest cricket news here and like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
