Prithvi Shaw or Rishabh Pant: Who will be the next torchbearer for India in cricket?
Indian Cricket has seen numerous players in its history who made it from rags to riches. Also, there are a number of players who made it big in a short time but couldn’t carry on and were lost in the crowd. Such is the competition and the competition keeps on growing with time.
The young generation has given a tough competition to senior players who are eyeing for a comeback and to be fair it’s the youngster who has the upper hand as they bring in much energy and freshness to the team. The think tank of the Indian team has also favoured the colts keeping the future in mind.
Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant are two current sensations who have been making headlines in the recent past and have given a tough time to their competitors. We compare the two youngsters on their highs and lows and who has their nose ahead in the competition.
#1 Rishabh Pant
India lost the U19 World Cup title in 2016 to Windies but came back with a bunch of promising talents. The emergence of Rishabh Pant is one of them. The era of M.S.Dhoni is likely to end in the near future.
The search to fill the void has already started and Pant looks positive and is the frontrunner in claiming that place. Though Rishabh Pant can be counted as just another youngster vying for a spot in the national team, his fearlessness and aggression keep him apart from the crowd.
Rishabh Pant is one of the few youngsters who can hit Boundaries at will. The left-handed big hitter made a strong statement in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy as he smashed the second fastest 100 in just 32 balls.
The tournament made the critics see him as a mere T20 player without much temperament to play the big innings. His IPL outing this year just confirmed the same. However, there were some worthy performances in the Ranji trophy that booked a spot for him in the national team.
Pant made his debut in the third Test against England this year and raised the eyebrows of everyone when he hit a six to bring up his first run in the Test career. However, he had a lean patch in the series with the string of low scores until the fourth innings of the fifth Test. He shut the mouth of every single person who questioned his temperament and his ability to play big innings in Tests when he stitched a 204 run partnership with KL Rahul while chasing 463 as he hit 114 runs off 146 balls. That showed his class to the critics and fans. He continued his fine run in the ongoing Windies series with scores of 92 and 92 in both the innings he batted.
Though his wicketkeeping still needs a lot of improvement, Pant looks a complete player and has the capability to carry forward the same. There have been many players who lost their path after showing such confidence and hope in the past but the passion and dedication are some characteristics in this youngster for the game that makes him sure to be one of the torchbearers in the future.
#2 Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw hinted about his ability few years ago when he hit a mammoth 546 runs in Harris Shield elite division setting the maximum score by any batsmen in an organized form of cricket. He proved himself again earlier this year by leading the India U19 team to the World Cup title. The Mumbai batsmen scored 261 runs in 6 outings. He made an impact in every tournament he played. He replicated Sachin’s feet as he scored centuries in Ranji and Duleep trophy debut.
Although there are many players who had a successful stint in U19 World Cup by leading the team to the title, only a few have been able to make it to the senior team. Prithvi Shaw looks to be one of the few who has the capability to play for the senior team and yes he has proved the same when he debuted in the ongoing Windies series. The temperament in Shaw’s game has made him stand apart from the crowd.
If its aggression and fearlessness for Pant, then its temperament and domination for Prithvi Shaw. The domination is another factor that has made the critics to compare him with the God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar. The 18-year-old youngster dominates the bowlers is has been aggressive. His knock of 63 runs in IPL against the bowling heavy Sunrisers Hyderabad is an evidence for his domination. The knock came in just 36 balls.
After some fine knocks in domestic level and U19 tournaments, his debut in the International side was awaited eagerly in the cricketing circle. He made the debut in the ongoing Windies series and also made an impact by becoming the youngest player to win the man of the series. Unlike many players who fail at International level after a promising start in the domestic circuit, Shaw made a strong statement with the scores 134, 70 and 33*.
Though Windies bowling was mediocre which hardly tested the young prodigy, he showed the much-needed hope in replicating the same in fore coming tournaments. He has solved the major headache of finding an aggressive opener for the Indian team and looks positive to carry forward the team in upcoming tournaments.
Some might accuse it to be too early to decide on a youngster like Prithvi Shaw. Though the accusation looks fair, his probability to continue his golden run is really high.
Though both Pant and Shaw are looking good to carry the Indian Cricket in future, it’s too early and both have their own minuses which they need to rectify. If it was Sachin then and Kohli now, why not Pant and Shaw for the future?