Former India spinner and Indian Premier League governing council member, Pragyan Ojha on Tuesday said he believes that Rishabh Pant has the potential to become India captain in the future, provided he continues to evolve into a matured leader in the years to come.
Pragyan Ojha, speaking to Sports Today after Delhi Capitals’s 1-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 22 of IPL 2021, lauded Pant’s composure and the way he handled himself after the heartbreaking loss.
Rishabh Pant came up with a calculated knock (48-ball 58 not out) and even played second fiddle to Shimron Hetmyer who took the RCB attack to the cleaners at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Despite Pant and Hetmyer going big in the final overs, Delhi fell short of Bangalore’s total by 1 run.
Stressing that he is able to sense a good aura around Rishabh Pant, Ojha said the Indian team management should keep an eye on the wicketkeeper-batsman’s leadership skills. Notably, Pant is leading an IPL franchise for the first time in his career. He was appointed as the skipper of DC after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IPL 2021 with a shoulder injury.
Pant has had a good start to his IPL captaincy career, having won 4 out of 6 matches with the Capitals.
“The way he has led his team. Somehow I get a feeling that in the years to come, if Rishabh Pant bats the way he has been batting and shows this maturity, he can be the captain. He is showing that,” Ojha said.
“When you talk about a player, the aura around him shows it. It makes me feel that this is the guy who can be the captain of the Indian team.
“That’s what I feel after reading about him after talking to people about him. This is the same aura that was created about Sourav Ganguly, created about MS Dhoni. So that is how it is. I feel he can. It’s still far away.
“But right now, the way he is developing himself as a player and as a leader, that is something that the think tank should have a close look at. Under Ravi (Shastri) bhai, I think he will develop,” he added.
