Former India chief selector MSK Prasad believes Rishabh Pant – who has been in the firing line for some time now – shouldn't put a burden on himself by comparing with the legendary MS Dhoni and instead should work on improving his own game and being the best version of himself.
Pant has established himself as a leading wicketkeeper-batsman in red-ball cricket after making his debut in England in 2018. The southpaw has already scored two Test tons outside the subcontinent – the only Indian glovesman to do so.
However, Rishabh is yet to find his feet in limited-overs cricket. As the recently-retired Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection after the 2019 World Cup, Pant was a regular feature in India’s white-ball team but he failed to secure his spot. The left-hander has played 16 ODIs, 28 T20Is so far and his averages of 26.71, 20.50 respectively suggest that he is not doing justice to his talent.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Cricket's Facebook Page, Prasad said: "Every time when Rishabh steps in, he is always compared with MS Dhoni, and probably, he is also getting caught in that euphoria. Many times, we spoke to him that he has to get over it."
He also shared the details of his conversations with Rishabh Pant.
"'Mahi is an absolutely different personality, and you are different, you are also phenomenal, you also have talent, that's why we are backing you," the team management used to tell Pant.
According to Prasad, the 22-year-old Pant started comparing himself with his idol Dhoni and even tried to imitate him in some aspects, which brought about his downfall.
"He always was in this shadow of MSD. He started comparing himself with him. He started sort of copying him, even in mannerisms and all, if you see the way he does all that sort of stuff," MSK Prasad remarked.
