Roles reversed, energetic Pant puts pressure on slowing Dhoni
GUWAHATI: Rishabh Pant seems to be pushing MS Dhoni to a place where the latter had pushed Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel 13 years ago.
Karthik and Patel were just 20 then and as India’s leading wicketkeepers were expected to share the job over the next decade.
Enter MS Dhoni. Despite experts’ doubts over his unconventional keeping style, he pushed his two rivals out of the national side due to his ability to sledgehammer the bowling.
The big scores he racked up in sucession, starting with the 148 versus Pakistan in 2005, left his competitors reeling. Patel and Karthik could make only sporadic appearances over the next few years.
But as years have passed, Dhoni’s powers have waned. At 37, he is struggling to hit the ball far as frequently as he had. In last month’s Asia Cup (strike rate 62.09, average 19.2), he failed miserably. The only thing that remained gold standard was his ability to effect quick stumpings.
When the selectors axed Karthik and picked Pant as the back-up to Dhoni for the ODI series against West Indies that begins on Sunday, they had an eye on next year’s World Cup. Yet to feature in ODIS, Pant has impressed with the bat in the last three Tests he has played. His counter-attacking century against England at the Oval (114) and two scores of 92 versus West Indies proved his ability to bat under pressure, do that freely, and produce the big hits.
In the 15 ODIS Dhoni has played this year, he has hit just one six and 17 fours. Pant, in his last three Test innings, has hit 10 sixes and 34 fours. His strike rates in those knocks (78, 109 and 69) have been better than Dhoni’s in those 15 ODIS, and way better than in the Asia Cup and ODIS in England.
Former India stumper Kiran More feels Dhoni remains important to India. “You need a senior player, his experience, at the World Cup. You can’t go blindly,” he says.
Does that mean Pant must wait? “Pant is a match-winner. This is the right time to give opportunity and test him for the World Cup.”