Brad Haddin urges Rishabh Pant to create his own identity

Former Australian cricketer Brad Haddin reckons Rishabh Pant should concentrate more on creating his own identity, as the youngster continues to struggle to nail down a starting place in the Indian team despite his outrageous potential.

The veteran Aussie, who was also a wicket-keeper batsman in his playing days, claimed that he had to fine-tune his game as per his skillset and added that Pant needs to play his natural game, as opposed to copying someone else's style.

“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,”

With Wriddhiman Saha donning the gloves for India in red-ball cricket, Pant faces a battle on his hands to displace KL Rahul behind the stumps for the Men in Blue, as he has struggled with form and temperament issues in recent months.

Speaking to Sportstar, Haddin claimed that when he started out as a player, he stuck to the basics and did not try to put himself in the same breath as some of the legends of the game.

“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."

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Haddin's advise speaks volumes about what he thinks of Pant's ability as a player, as he went on to speak about the influential MS Dhoni, who left a lasting impression with his stint as India's wicketkeeper-batsman over the years.

“India have been blessed for the last 10 years to have a superstar of the game in MS Dhoni. So, it’s important whoever takes over from that role creates their own identity. Dhoni has left a great legacy to the game."

He’s 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."

While Pant has found himself in and out of the team in recent months, time is on his side to turn things around and become a big player for India in the future. The 22-year-old is a regular feature of the limited-overs side and is expected to be chosen in the squad for the ICCT20 World Cup in Australia later this year.