4 Players whose career might suffer due to Rishabh Pant's rise
Cricket has often proven to be lucky for some cricketers, but unlucky to many others. And you always feel bad to see talented cricketers sitting out and waiting for opportunities, only because there's someone else occupying the role they fit best.
The biggest example of this is the promising careers of Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel faded away due to the legendary MS Dhoni.
It looks like the same case might be repeated due to Rishabh Pant as well. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman from Delhi has shown tremendous promise in the initial stages of his small career.
He had a fantastic performance in the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he shot into the limelight after his 24-ball 75 against Nepal. Due to this, he was included in the Delhi Daredevils franchise for the 2016 season.
After Wriddhaman Saha suffered an injury, India tried many wicketkeepers against South Africa, but none of them could live up to the expectations of the team management. This was when the Indian management decided to try Pant, who finally made his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge.
But the real turning point of his career was his century in the 5th Test against England at the Kennington Oval in 2018. His 146-ball 114 was clear evidence of his class and talent.
There was no looking back for the man after that, and he smashed another century against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He scored an unbeaten 189 ball 159, which helped India post 622-7 and ensure that they did not lose the series.
Pant's phenomenal debut year earned him the ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2018 award as well. And he is an integral part of India's World Cup 2019 plans now. This makes it evident that if Pant continues to perform in the same manner, then he might leave many of the other talented wicketkeepers behind.
Let us take a look at some of those keepers:
#1 Sanju Samson
The 24-year-old Keralite has been a consistent performer in IPL and domestic cricket for quite a long time now. Samson made his IPL debut in 2013, at the age of just 19. He was at his best in the 2018 season, where he scored 441 runs in 15 matches, including 3 half centuries, at a strike rate of 137.81.
His continuous strong performances earned him an India A call-up in 2018. One good performance over there could have earned him an international call-up, but the failure in the yo-yo test demolished all his dreams.
Samson had made his international T20 debut for India against Zimbabwe in 2015. He scored 19 runs and was excluded from the team immediately after that. Since then, he has not featured in any of the international matches.
He has been retained by the Rajasthan Royals franchise for the 2019 season as well, and a good performance might open the doors of glory for him.
#2 Ishan Kishan
The 20-year-old batsman from Bihar is another promising player, and one of the biggest competitors to Rishabh Pant.
He was the captain of India's U-19 World Cup team, which was held in Dhaka. Although the left-handed batsman could manage only 73 runs in the tournament, his efficient captaincy took India to the final.
His fortunes chanced forever in the 2016-17 Ranji season, as he scored 799 runs, which included a brilliant knock of 273 against Delhi.
Kishan was picked up by the Gujarat Lions team for the 2016 IPL season. However, his real class showed in 2017 and 2018, when he scored 277 and 275 runs respectively. He was a part of Mumbai Indians in the 2018 season, and has been retained by the franchise again.
His recent exploits include an unbeaten 55-ball 100 against Jammu and Kashmir and a 63-ball 112 against Manipur in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. If it wasn't for Pant, Kishan would have been the front-runner to occupy the place of a hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman in the middle order.