Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. All players have to call it quits and Dhoni has also decided to hang up his golden boots. The development was not a shock and the management of the Indian team has been working to prepare for this eventuality for some time.
As part of the plan to fill the void, management endorsed young Rishabh Pant to take over the reins of MSD in limited overs cricket. The youngster, with immense potential, got off to a decent start to his international career before a string of below par performances saw him lose his place in the Indian team.
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Former head of selectors MSK Prasad, who was part of the leadership that was preparing Pant to replace Dhoni, has revealed what he believes is the reason why Pant missed out.
In a chat with Sportskeeda, Prasad said the constant comparisons to Dhoni didn’t help the young man who should have been left alone.
“Every time Rishabh steps in, he’s always compared to MS Dhoni, and he’s probably caught in that euphoria too. Many times we told him that he had to get over it, ”Prasad said.
“‘Mahi is an absolutely different personality, and you are different, you are also phenomenal, you also have talent, so we support you,” the team management used to tell Pant according to Prasad.
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Prasad went on to say that Pant began to compare himself to Dhoni and even began to copy the legend.
“He was always in the shadow of MSD. She began to compare herself to her. He started to copy it, even in his gestures and everything, if you see the way he does all that kind of thing, “he continued.
Pant lost his place on the T20 side to KL Rahul during the New Zealand tour earlier this year. With Wriddhiman Saha available in test matches, Pant has competition there too. Dhoni’s retirement could mean the left-hander has a long career in ODIs, but he will have to start from scratch and claim a permanent spot on the team with good performances with both gloves and bat.
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