Prior to the start of the T20I series against South Africa in Dharamsala this Sunday (September 15), Gautam Gambhir said he feels Rishabh Pant should be wary of his potential replacements in the system and make good use of whatever opportunities he is being presented with. 

Pant's wicketkeeping skills and tendency to throw away his wicket have been topics of debates for a while, and Gambhir only added his bit to it by also indicating someone like a Sanju Samson as his personal "favorite" for the same job. 

"Rishabh Pant is always exciting but he has to watch his back as my favorite Sanju Samson is throwing some serious challenges at him," he wrote in his column for TOI. 

Gambhir is also expecting a run-feast in Dharamshala considering it's a venue placed at high altitude and generally has short boundaries. "Dharamshala is not a very big arena. And being at a higher altitude, the science guys tell me that the ball travels faster because the air is thin. All this means there will be plenty of boundaries if the pitch is good for batting," he wrote.

The 37-year-old, who retired last year after playing 58 Tests for the country, also backed KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, and Shreyas Iyer to come good and help India build nicely towards the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020 with a series victory over an inexperienced Proteas unit. 

"It is another opportunity for young Indian batsmen to cement their place in the side," he added. "Manish Pandey looks much younger than his age of 29. Shreyas Iyer explained enough in the West Indies that he is a great deal more than the ‘South Bombay’ swag. KL Rahul is a force in white-ball format."

"Hosts India will be licking their lips at the idea of taking on a young, work-in-progress opposition. It is an exciting series as there are a lot of individual battles going on considering the T20 World Cup next year," Gambhir signed off. 

(Inputs from TOI)