Rishabh Pant Needs A Mentor To Guide Him: Suresh Raina

Twelve months can be a long time in International cricket. Such is the frenetic nature of the game that once someone falls behind the eight-ball, it can be very difficult for him/her to claw his way back. And, no one knows it better than Rishabh Pant currently.

Just over a year ago, the prodigious young talent could do no wrong. He was at the top of the world courtesy his stupendous start to his Test career when he became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batsman to hit a hundred in England and Australia. Pant was being hailed as the rightful successor to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In-fact, when the southpaw wasn’t selected in the initial fifteen-member World Cup squad, there was a lot of hue and cry from all corners of the cricketing fraternity.

He was being hailed as the next superstar of Indian cricket. But, with adulations comes the pressure of expectation and Rishabh Pant has experienced it to the hilt. With every underwhelming knock and every missed opportunity behind the stumps, the pressure just kept mounting with fans, media, former cricketers and pundits of this beautiful game putting the youngster under stringent scrutiny.

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Somene needs to guide Rishabh Pant- Suresh Raina

When a young cricketer, who is as talented as Pant is, goes through a tough phase, it is the responsibility of the senior cricketers to step and guide him, and former Indian batsman and a 2011 World Cup winner Suresh Raina has echoed the same sentiment during an Instagram Live session conducted by the Chennai Super Kings. Giving the example of how senior players like Yuvraj Singh used to guide him when he initially came into the team, Raina said that all Pant needs is someone to step-up and play the role of mentor for him.

“Rishabh Pant is very talented. Someone has to step up and guide him. When I used to play, Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) paa used to tell me you make mistakes and we will guide you. So Rishabh should be backed,” Raina said during an Instagram live session for Chennai Super Kings.

Rishabh Pant’s stock has steadily fallen in the past six months. From being hailed as Dhoni’s successor to seeing KL Rahul take his place as the designated first-choice keeper-batsman, Pant’s career has come a full circle. The southpaw warmed the bench during the entire white-ball leg of the New Zealand tour and while he did get the gloves back in the Test series, where his performance behind the wickets was good, he could not emulate the same feat with the bat.

Also Read: Suresh Raina Slams Selectors As He Rues Not Being Told The Reason Behind His Exclusion