Opinion: Rishabh Pant is the perfect replacement for MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has been a boon for the Indian cricket team because his calmness and sensible knowledge of cricket has lifted the level of the sport in our country. The Ranchi boy has been the cornerstone for the Indian team since years.

Due to his great efforts, India has conquered various mighty teams including Australia and England. The list of his achievements as a captain is never ending which includes various major trophies like the ICC Champions Trophy, ICC World T20 and the ICC World Cup.

Dhoni has mastered the technique of staying calm even in the toughest situation

Nicknamed Captain Cool, Dhoni has mastered the technique of staying calm even in the toughest situation. It is every young spinner’s dream to bowl with MS Dhoni behind the stumps as Dhoni provides them with the perfect guidance and game-plan.

In-spite of being 37 years old, MSD is still one of the fittest cricketers in the entire Indian team. Dhoni has been providing the finest of his services to the Indian team since 2004 but considering his recent lacklustre form, the veteran is always pressurized to retire from cricket.

The wicket-keeper batsman would look to retire after the 2019 World Cup hence his replacement is the major concern for Indian selectors.

Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant are the front-runners in taking Dhoni's place

As Dhoni has already retired from Test cricket, selectors have tried various new faces as his replacement in the longest format such as Dinesh Karthik, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik to name a few.

Among all the new faces, Rishabh Pant has emerged as the apt replacement in all three formats.

The aggressive nature of Pant is his strength which allows him to score at a better run rate. Pant made his test debut on 18 August 2018 against England and became the 291st player to represent the Indian team in test format.

In his first Test itself, Pant made the world record of grabbing the highest catches in the debut match. He took five catches in the first innings and two in the second innings making a total of seven catches.

The 21-year-old also registered a century (114) during his debut series. Pant is a complete package comprising a vital balance of batting and wicket keeping.

The exact replacement of MSD is tough to find but still, among all other faces, Pant seems the most capable and deserving to don the wicket-keeping gloves for India.

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