Ever since Rishabh Pant broke into the Indian team, his wicketkeeping skills have drawn flak from various former cricketers. While some felt he needed some more time to prove his mettle at the highest level, many were of the opinion that it was important to give the 22-year-old enough opportunities. In the two Tests he played against New Zealand last month, Pant took eight catches and struggled with the bat, scoring 60 runs in four innings. Brad Haddin, the former Australia stumper, believes it is important for Pant to “create his own identity” and not copy someone.
“Rishabh Pant should be him. That’s how he’s going to create his identity. He’s got to be himself,” Haddin told Sportstar in an interaction. The Aussie, who was also the fielding coach of the side until last year, was in Mumbai last week for the UnAcademy Road Safety World Series, which was eventually called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Expectation comes with anyone at this level and that’s one of the things you’ve got to deal with. But the most important thing is to create your own identity of what you want to be seen as,” Haddin said, making it clear that Pant should try and be himself. ‘Bring your own style’ “You bring your own style to the team. When I first got my opportunity to play Test cricket, I couldn’t try to be an Adam Gilchrist or Ian Healy. I had to bring my own unique style to the game. One of the challenges here is not trying to be someone you’re not and just be true to yourself,” Haddin said.
Ever since M. S. Dhoni retired from Test cricket, Wriddhiman Saha took care of things for India’s Test team. The Indian team still struggles to settle for a right candidate in the shorter formats, however, especially with no clarity on Dhoni’s future.
“India have been blessed for the last 10 years to have a superstar of the game in M. S. Dhoni. So, it’s important whoever takes over from that role creates their own identity. Dhoni has left a great legacy for Indian cricket, but the next one involved, it’s up to them to put their own style to the game and their identity what they want to create as an Indian keeper,” the seasoned Haddin, who featured in 66 Tests, 126 ODIs and 34 T20Is for Australia, said.
