IPL 2021 | Rishabh Pant can be a better player than MS Dhoni, claims Parthiv Patel

IPL 2021 | Rishabh Pant can be a better player than MS Dhoni, claims Parthiv Patel

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Pant and Dhoni together after an ODI game in 2019

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Former RCB gloveman Parthiv Patel has claimed that Rishabh Pant can do even better than someone like MS Dhoni and doesn't have to worry about being like him. He also added that he doesn't feel that MI needs to make many changes to their XI with Hardik Pandya bowling quite a bit now.

Rishabh Pant has taken 2021 by storm. He started off with a brilliant 97 in the SCG Test which was followed by a match-winning 91 in the Gabba Test that helped India win the Test series Down Under. After that, he again had a brilliant series at home against England as he plundered two fifties and a century in the four-match Test series with his wicketkeeping standing out on some pretty tough wickets. Not only Tests, he recently even played exceptionally well in the ODI series making 77 and 78 respectively in the two chances he got. 

As fate would have it, Shreyas Iyer got injured just ahead of the 2021 IPL and that resulted in Pant getting appointed as Delhi Capitals' skipper. Parthiv Patel reckons that Pant will hold the key for DC and he also stated that the left-hander can even outdo MS Dhoni. 

"I think Rishabh Pant carries a lot of confidence with him and that's what you want when you are playing a T20 game. You don't want any doubts in your mind and especially a player like Rishabh Pant. He was burdened with the comparison of MS Dhoni and he also tried to do that, but he himself is a brilliant player. He doesn't have to worry about being like MS Dhoni. He can be better than MS Dhoni or he can win matches on his own every given time. So, I think Rishabh Pant will probably hold the key for Delhi Capitals," Parthiv said on Star Sports, reported TOI.

Analyzing defending champions Mumbai Indians, the former Gujarat skipper stated that they don't need to tinker much with their XI especially after Hardik Pandya started bowling and also feels Krunal Pandya's form will come in handy. 

"I don't think Mumbai Indians will be thinking of where they are playing next. All the teams would be thinking about where they are playing first and you know, try and get their best team forward, try and get their best XI on the path.

"If they are playing in Chennai, you might expect some spinner but from the Mumbai Indians point of view, I don't think they have to tinker a lot with their playing XI because Hardik Pandya is bowling quite a bit now, almost bowling 4 overs, Pollard bowls his slower ones really well, which might be useful on a Chennai wicket. And obviously, Rahul Chahar had an outstanding IPL, a couple of outstanding IPLs and hence, he was picked for India. Krunal Pandya's 4 overs, his form in domestic cricket, so I can go on and on about it," he added.

Parthiv also doesn't seem too impressed with the way things stack up for RCB at the moment and remarked that if there was Moeen Ali in the team, it would have been different. 

"But I think there were a lot of questions to be answered in the auction, but I don't think they have answered those questions. Just because they were not expecting it to go out of Bangalore. Hence, Moeen Ali went. If Moeen Ali was there, it would have been a different XI altogether. And one player actually can change the composition of the XI. As he rightly said, attention was to try to get away from ABD and Virat, but how much attention they are trying to win it away inside the team will matter the most and not outside of the team," he added.

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