Former England captain Kevin Pietersen believes Rishabh Pant – who has been in the firing line lately – needs to be given time to mature as there is still some years before he can realize his true potential.
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Ever since Pant replaced the legendary MS Dhoni in the limited-overs circuit, he is facing the wrath of the fans and pundits – be it for his batting, wicket-keeping skills or his suggestion to captain while going for DRS calls.
"He is young and he has that energy and enthusiasm, he plays in the IPL, and he plays for India and is just living his dream. There will be a lot of critics around him, he's only 21 (22)," Pietersen said on Star Sports' 'Nerolac Cricket Live' show.
"I observed him very closely during the IPL and he kept making the same mistake and when you do that continuously then pundits, experts and people who have played the game want to criticize you because you should be learning from your mistakes.
"But I never realized he's 21, I thought he was 24 or 25 because by that age you have matured in your game and at the age of 27-30 is when you are playing your best sport," he added.
Ahead of the first T20I against West Indies in Hyderabad last week, India skipper Virat Kohli came out in support of Rishabh, saying that the team management trust the ability of the youngster and he should be given some space to do well.
"If you look at all the mistakes he 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 (22), 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," Pietersen remarked.
West Indies batting legend Brian Lara, who was also present in the show with Pietersen, said there is "excessive pressure" on Pant.
"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 Dhoni immediately and in the same fold but he is a totally different player."
"I know the time is critical with the World T20 just 8 or 9 months away and they may even go with another keeper but the excessive pressure on him is unnecessary."
Lara also agreed to Kohli's decision of backing Pant.
"I agree with captain Virat Kohli on supporting Pant as this is a very successful Indian team and I remember the West Indies team 30 years ago, we had guys in there who weren't performing well but they were kept in the team because the team was doing very well," he said.
"And we had all the great players but you never heard about Gus Logie or Carl Hooper because they weren't doing that well but they were allowed to mature and I feel Rishabh Pant should be allowed to mature," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
