Everyone wanted him to be next Dhoni – Chahal opens up on Rishabh Pant’s failure across formats

Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant has led the franchise well in the IPL 2021. The young Indian batter has been influential as a leader as currently leading the Delhi based franchise in Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings.

However, things were not easy for the wicket-keeper batsman in the early stage of his career. He was constantly slammed by fans for his poor display with the bat and gloves. There was a time when he was struggling for runs across formats in international cricket.

His India teammate Yuzvendra Chahal recently recalled Pant’s initial struggle, when spectators at the stadium used to chant ‘Dhoni Dhoni,’ to tease him.

During a chat with SGTV, Chahal said everyone wanted Pant to be next MS Dhoni and when the expectations were not met, he was lambasted.

“So, there was a lot of pressure on Pant, because he was only around 19 or 20 years old at that time. We would tell him to ignore all these things and focus on his game. He was under tremendous pressure then he was also out of the team for a while,” added Chahal.

Chahal also appreciated Pant for making a strong comeback. “He made a superb comeback. He has improved a lot; he has shown a lot of maturity. His performance has been really good and I guess people should understand that when a sportsperson is on the ground, he tries his best, and nobody wants to perform badly. People should give a little respect to the player,” Chahal said.