Port of Spain, June 23: Ahead of their first One Day International (ODI) match against West Indies today (June 23), former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was seen giving pep talk to young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
; Probable India XI " title="India tour of WI: Schedule; 1st ODI preview; Probable India XI " />India tour of WI: Schedule; 1st ODI preview; Probable India XI
The BCCI on Friday (June 23) shared an image of Pant talking to the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman ahead of the first ODI at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.
19-year-old Pant, widely considered as a potential successor to Dhoni, has been selected for his maiden ODI series. Pant has played just one T20 international match for India and is yet to make his ODI debut.
However, it will be interesting to see if he gets an opportunity to play in the series against Windies or not. Even if he doesn't gets a chance in the Playing XI, still spending time and getting mentored by some like Dhoni will surely help Pant improve his game and confidence.
#TeamIndia's @msdhoni giving a pep talk to @RishabPant777 ahead of the first ODI #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/73qvDpMyRG
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 23, 2017
Dhoni over a period of last 12 years emerged as India's most successful wicketkeeper. The 35-year-old glovesman from Ranchi has taken 571 catches in international games and effected 155 stumpings, so far.
Despite reaching an age where cricketers are under scrutiny for being slow and less athletic in the field, Dhoni's lightening quick stumpings and run outs make even the fastest of players on tenterhooks.
As far as his batting exploits are concerned, Dhoni still averages 50.77 in 291 ODI matches he has represented his country.
These figures are enough to prove Dhoni's brilliance behind the wickets and as a middle-order batsman who has emerged as one of the biggest match-finishers for India.
If a youngster like Pant could just pick up some basic skills or two from the great man, it could do wonders to his career.
The left-handed batsman from Delhi had a fantastic outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 for Delhi Daredevils. Pant scored 366 runs in 14 matches for Delhi Daredevils and his blitzkrieg against Gujarat Lions at Feroz Shah Kotla will be remembered for long.
Dhoni, who has a knack to bring the best out of his players, as a mentor could help Pant become his replacement as and when he decides to call it quits.
OneIndia News