IND vs SA 2022: "I would have stopped him from becoming captain"

Former Indian all-rounder and World Cup winner Madan Lal believes Rishabh Pant should not have been appointed India's captain for the T20I series against South Africa.

The 24-year-old was initially named as KL Rahul's deputy for the series. However, Rahul suffered a groin injury and was ruled out on the eve of the first T20I. Pant replaced him as the skipper of the side.

The Men in Blue lost the first two games of the series and questions were immediately raised about the wicketkeeper's tactics.

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Rishabh Pant and India staged a comeback and ended up leveling the series 2-2. However, speaking to Sports Tak, Madan Lal explained that Pant still needs to show more maturity as a batter, as he mustered 58 runs in the entire series. He said:

"I would have stopped him from becoming captain. Wouldn't have allowed it. Because such a player needs to be given this responsibility later. Becoming an India captain is a big deal. He is a youngster. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The longer he plays, he will gain more maturity."

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Madan Lal on when Rishabh Pant can become a good captain

Madan Lal believes that since MS Dhoni was always calm in his approach, captaincy came naturally to him. But since Pant is naturally aggressive, Lal feels he needs to become more consistent as a batter over the next couple of years and only then think about captaincy. He stated:

"Over the next two years, if he can take his game to the next level, then he can be a good captain, can deal with things maturely. This is a player of a different nature. MS Dhoni was a quiet and cool captain, which suited him as captain. Virat Kohli is a brilliant batter."

Lal concluded:

"I’m not saying Pant shouldn't be swinging his bat but if he can play with a little more maturity, it would be great."

Rishabh Pant has now joined India's Test squad in England and is likely to play a crucial role in the one-off Test against England beginning on July 1.