Former Indian all-rounder Madan Lal stated that he would have stopped Rishabh Pant from becoming captain in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa. India lost the first two T20Is against the Proteas; thus, Pant’s leadership came under the scanner.
There were some decisions which Pant took that were questioned by the experts. Pant decided not to bowl Chahal’s full quota of overs in the first T20I as the leg-spinner was expensive. Subsequently, the team management and Pant decided to promote Axar Patel ahead of Dinesh Karthik in the second T20I at Cuttack.
However, Pant did a better job in the next two T20I as India convincingly won by 48 and 82 runs in the third and fourth T20I respectively.
Madan Lal reckons Pant is going to get maturity with experience and it was early to give him captaincy responsibility.
Madan Lal said while talking to Sports Tak, “I would have stopped him from becoming captain. Wouldn’t have allowed it. Because such a player needs to be given this responsibility later. Becoming an India captain is a big deal. He is a youngster. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The longer he plays, he will gain more maturity.”
The World Cup winning-player added that Pant will become a better captain when he will take his game to the next level. Lal added that MS Dhoni was a successful captain as he was always calm. Pant didn’t have a great series against South Africa as he could only manage 58 runs in five matches.
“Over the next two years, if he can take his game to the next level, then he can be a good captain, can deal with things maturely. This is a player of a different nature. MS Dhoni was a quiet and cool captain, which suited him as captain. Virat Kohli is a brilliant batter.”
“I’m not saying Pant shouldn’t be swinging his bat but if he can play with a little more maturity, it would be great.”
Rishabh Pant will now be seen in action in the rescheduled Test match against England, which will take place at Edgbaston from July 1.
