"Rishabh Pant can lead India in Tests” – Former Pakistan cricketer backs India wicketkeeper to succeed Rohit Sharma as captain in future
Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has backed Rishabh Pant to lead India in the future in Tests. The former off-spinner pointed out that the wicketkeeper-batter kept his teammates and bowlers entertained, a trait which legendary India captain MS Dhoni possessed.
Kaneria’s response came days after Pant made a brilliant comeback to Tests, scoring his sixth Test century. The left-handed batter was playing the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh after a gap of 18 months following his return to competitive cricket earlier this year. His scores of 39 and 109 helped India win the game by 280 runs. With his sixth Test ton, Pant joined Dhoni for most centuries in the format.
On Wednesday, September 25, Danish Kaneria told news agency IANS:
"Rishabh Pant can lead India in Tests in future. He has that calibre. Indian cricket is going great guns."
Notably, Pant leads Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. The 26-year-old has won 23 out of 43 matches in the T20 extravaganza.
It's worth mentioning that BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has appointed Shubman Gill as vice-captain across formats. He said (via NDTV):
"Shubman is the guy we feel again as he is a three-format player firstly, and he has shown quality over the last year or so."
Earlier this year, Gill led Gujarat Titans to five wins in 14 games, including two rain-washed games at IPL 2024. It was his assignment as a skipper in competitive cricket.
“It could be Rishabh Pant” – Aakash Chopra echoes similar sentiments as Danish Kaneria
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra also echoed similar sentiments as Danish Kaneria regarding Rishabh Pant as future skipper. The cricketer-turned-commentator said on his YouTube channel last year (via India Today):
"I am talking about extremely long-term, it could be Shubman Gill. I am not talking about now, I am talking about the distant future. It could be Rishabh Pant. Rishabh Pant as a Test cricketer is 24-carat gold.”
"So, he could also be the one. He is a game-changer. So I will look towards one of these two once Rohit says he is done with Test cricket and that you can appoint someone else as the skipper," Chopra added.
Pant has represented India in 34 Tests, scoring 2,419 runs at an average of 44.79, including six tons and 11 half-centuries so far. The southpaw has scored Test centuries in England and Australia. He remains critical to India’s success against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away) in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy during the upcoming Test series.