‘Just as I didn’t try to be Healy, Pant shouldn’t try to be Dhoni’ Hyderabad FC look TO BUILD ON FIRST WIN Rafael Nadal confirms London ATP Finals place

NEW DELHI: Australian wicket-keeping great Adam Gilchrist on Tuesday had just one advice for the embattled Rishabh Pant — don’t try to be the next Mahendra Singh Dhoni just as he didn’t try to be Ian Healy 2.0.

Pant has been struggling to hold on to his place in the Indian team despite a resounding start to his career with Test hundreds on debut in England and Australia. In Sunday’s T20 match against Bangladesh, Pant also coped criticism for bad DRS calls, something that Dhoni had mastered at his peak.

Glichrist reiterated that the 22-year-old Pant should only focus on being his own best version instead of trying to ape the iconic former captain, who is currently on a sabbatical.

“My number one suggestion to Indian fans and journalists would be: Don’t attempt to compare him with MS Dhoni. The mould that they used to make Dhoni, they have mashed it up once he was made. So that they make sure that there is not another one,” he quipped at a promotional event of Tourism Australia.

Gilchrist, who held the record for most dismissal by an Australian wicketkeeper in ODIS, said he never tried to copy Healy when he came into the national team.

“I know from personal experience, I went after Ian Healy, who was picked in the best ever Test cricket team in Australia. I just didn’t want to try to be Ian Healy. I wanted to learn from him but I wanted to be Adam Gilchrist and that would be my advice to Rishabh,” he said.

Gilchrist, however, did urge the youngster to learn from Dhoni’s phenomenal career during which he led India to two world titles.

“My advice would be to learn everything you possibly can, work as hard as you can but don’t try to be MS Dhoni. just try to be the best Rishabh Pant,” he said. HYDERABAD: High on confidence after their first win in their previous game, Hyderabad FC would look to make sure their fortunes have indeed turned around after early struggle when they face Northeast United in an Indian Super League match here on Wednesday.

All the negativity that surrounded Hyderabad FC’S poor start to the season was dispelled by their come-from-behind 2-1 win over Kerala Blasters FC in the previous game.

Phil Brown’s side were at the receiving end of two heavy defeats away from home before finding some relief at home. Now, the task for the manager is to build on this result and boost the morale of the squad.

However, his task is still unenviable, given the fact that key players are still missing due to injury and suspensions. The likes of Bobo, Rafael Gomez and Giles Barnes are all injured while Nestor Gordillo is still serving a ban. “I don’t think we have moved past all the injuries, there are four big players still injured. What we tend to do is to focus on what we have. We focused on the players that are available to us. That was the most important thing,” said Brown.

The bright spot for Hyderabad FC will be the form of Marcelinho. The Brazilian forward struck a brilliant free-kick winner against Kerala Blasters and scored a goal in their 3-1 defeat to Jamshedpur FC. He will be Hyderabad’s talisman against a solid Northeast United.

The visiting side’s potent attack, led by the irrepressible Asamoah Gyan and Martin Chaves, will pose a huge threat to a fragile Hyderabad defence which is yet to keep a clean sheet this season. Youngster Redeem Tlang has also impressed and adds to the guile and pace of Northeast’s attack.

We know we are coming up against a very strong team and they got a lot of discipline in their team. They are very organised defensively. They have Gyan who is capable of winning a game on his own. But we have a team which has character,” said Brown.

Northeast United are undefeated in three matches so far. Though they have only one win, their two draws have come against strong sides in Bengaluru FC and FC Goa. In fact, Robert Jarni’s side will count themselves unlucky not to have obtained all three points against Goa, after conceding a late stoppage-time equaliser.

Gilchrist, however, did urge the youngster to learn from Dhoni’s phenomenal career during which he led India to two world titles

MADRID: World number one Rafael Nadal, recovering from injury, confirmed Tuesday he will compete at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London from November 10-17.

“Yesterday I had an MRI in Majorca and despite a slight strain to the left abdominal muscle I will go to London,” tweeted Nadal, forced out of last week’s Paris Masters by the same injury.

“Thursday or Friday I will start hitting services. The idea is to play the ATP Finals. Thanks for your support.”

Nadal took over as world number one this week from Novak Djokovic who went on to win the Paris Masters. The eight top-ranked players in the world gather in London for the ATP Tour Finals where Nadal’s world number one ranking will be under threat from Djokovic.

The Serb would be sure of reclaiming the year-end top ranking should he win the tournament and Nadal fail to reach the semis. If Nadal fails to win even one round robin match, Djokovic could be crowned world number one simply by reaching the final after two group-stage wins.