MS Dhoni requested not to retire by team management; want him to groom Rishabh Pant as mentor and back-up in the team
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Ever since India’s semi-final exit from the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the discussions, debates, speculations, conjectures and everything associated even with MS Dhoni’s post retirement plans have become one of the burning issues across the Indian Cricket fraternity.
Moreover, with with his decision to not travel with the team for the upcoming tour of West Indies, people have begun to scratch their heads even more upon contemplating and envisaging the next possible next step that might be taken by the veteran.
ALSO READ: Indian chief selector opened up on the senior Dhoni’s exit from the ODI squad.
Now, post the announcement of the team’s selection for the tour, and with the 21-year-old Rishabh Pant being selected as the first-choice wicket-keeper batsman across all formats, it is more or less clear as to who the management thinks could possibly slip into the big MS Dhoni shoes.
Pant being groomed with an eye on the 2020 T20 World Cup
Speaking to the news agency, IANS, a source in the scheme of things has revealed that Pant will be groomed for the next ICC assignment in line- the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.
However, having said that, they do not wish to sideline Dhoni as they still believe that a possible Rishabh Pant injury might be an irreplaceable blow as they do not consider anyone worth his calibre to replace him in such a scenario.
Thus, Dhoni has apparently been requested to groom the left-hander and act as his man-to-man back-up whenever things go haywire.
“Take a look around and tell me who are your options if Pant suffers an injury? To be honest, all the names on the other side don’t match-up to be half as good as Dhoni still is. Yes, there is no denying the fact that Pant is the future and he will be looked at across all formats, but Dhoni’s guidance as well as presence is still needed,” the source explained.
Pant has off-late demonstrated his calibre and potential whilst grabbing the opportunity of playing for the national team during the 2019 World Cup. However, he has the propensity to throw away his wicket at a crucial juncture of the match costing his team big time.
