Rishabh Pant finally found his form and in many ways, salvaged his career. However, it has also ignited debates over his inclusion in the Indian team across all formats.
Former Indian captain Virender Sehwag has, however, vouched for MS Dhoni to be India's wicket-keeper for the 2019 World Cup ahead of Pant and has cited his experience for the same.
'His experience is far less than Dhoni'
"In my personal opinion, MS Dhoni should continue till the 2019 World Cup. Even if you play Pant in ODIs from now, he won't be able to play more than 15-16 ODIs till the World Cup which is far less compared to Dhoni, who has played over 300 ODIs. I would want Dhoni to continue till the World Cup," Sehwag was quoted as saying by India TV.
However, the former opener has backed Rishabh Pant to succeed Dhoni when the latter decides to call it a day as he believes he has the right temperament to win matches for India all by himself.
"Pant is someone who can hit sixes at his will, but when you talk about Dhoni, he has won matches single-handedly for the country. So Pant has the right kind of the temperament to be a perfect heir for him. I want Dhoni to hand the baton to Pant when he hangs his boots," he added.
Pant, who has been turning heads in India's domestic circuit, was part of India's Test squad for England and had replaced Dinesh Karthik in the third Test at Southampton. It was not a very cordial welcome for him at the International level as he struggled both as a keeper and could not give a good account of himself with the bat.
However, the team management persisted with him and this bore fruits as he scored a brilliant century on the final day of the fifth Test match, along with KL Rahul as they took the attack to England. Although his innings of 114 was not enough to salvage a draw, his temperament and flamboyant attitude stood out.
