"Rishabh Pant may actually pip Rahul to the post" - Aakash Chopra on Team India's future Test captain
Aakash Chopra reckons Rishabh Pant might pip KL Rahul to become Team India's next Test captain.
Rahul is currently Rohit Sharma's deputy across all three formats of the game. Questions have been raised about his captaincy credentials and quite a few experts believe that either Pant or Hardik Pandya should be given the reins of the Indian side in the future.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra first reflected on the captaincy styles of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Hardik. He had the following to say about some of the other Indian players who have led either internationally or in the Indian Premier League (IPL):
"There are three other captains. I will talk about KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, I can talk about Sanju Samson as well. Rishabh Pant may just actually pip Rahul to the post in Test cricket but don't forget Rahul is a class player across the three formats. But you have not understood the clear DNA of their captaincy."
While observing that Pant seems to have an attacking approach to captaincy, Chopra questioned some of the decisions the youngster has taken. The former Indian batter elaborated:
"Rishabh Pant, for example, seems to be an aggressive captain in terms of the way he uses the bowlers. But at times an over is left in the end, like Kuldeep picked up four wickets but didn't bowl his four overs. I mean that also has happened very often, or a spinner is bowling the 20th over. So it is a developing story."
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" We saved him (Kuldeep) for back half, then the dew came in so we didn't want to give a massive over for someone. It's a 50-50 call. The only process was to take it deep with spinners getting help.
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The trust shown by Pant helped Kuldeep Yadav make an excellent comeback in IPL 2022. On the flip side, the Delhi Capitals skipper drew some criticism at times for not bowling the left-arm wrist-spinner his full quota of overs when he was on top of the opposition batters.
"That DNA hasn't developed thus far" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant's captaincy
Chopra added that the likes of Pant, Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson are yet to develop their distinctive captaincy styles. He observed:
"He (Pant) is learning of course, getting better, there is no doubt about that, but that DNA hasn't developed thus far. You can say the same thing about Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson as well."
Chopra feels Samson was the best amongst the foursome at managing his bowlers during IPL 2022. The renowned commentator said:
"They are captaining their franchises but they are all work in progress. I think Sanju Samson is managing the bowling resources a little better. He had a very good bowling attack as well."
Samson led the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL 2022 final. Although he was usually unsuccessful at the toss, the bowling arsenal at his disposal helped him in defending totals more often than not.