Ajit Agarkar wants Rishabh Pant in place of MS Dhoni for Windies ODI series

He may been one of India’s best finishers in the limited-over formats but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is just a shadow of his former self on the ground and former Indian speedster Ajit Agarkar feels it is time to move ahead with time. The name he prefers as a replacement for the legendary wicket-keeper is Rishabh Pant.

Dhoni’s batting form has come under criticism over the past several months as he has slowed down considerably. In the Asia Cup held recently, too, the 37-year-old could not produce anything spectacular with the bat though his glovework was impressive. It is MSD’s sliding batting form which has raised the clamour for a possible replacement, especially in the run-up to the next World Cup in May-July 2019.

Pant, on the other hand, impressed with his batting in the Test arena. In his third Test, he slammed his first ton (114) against England at the Oval while in his first Test at home, too, he scored 92 off just 84 balls against the Windies. The noise over the 21-year-old’s inclusion in the limited-over cricket has understandably gone high.

Pant has played in Tests and T20Is but yet to make his debut in ODIs

“I can’t believe he (Pant) is not part of India’s shorter format setup,” Agarkar was quoted by ESPNCricinfo. He also said that there was no harm in resting MSD to give the youngster a chance.

‘No harm resting Dhoni for a few games’

“Hopefully they do that (ODI for Pant) sooner, rather than later, against the West Indies in the ODI series. There are five ODIs and there will be an opportunity to play him somewhere, whether as a batter or a wicketkeeper. I mean you know what Dhoni can do and there is no harm in resting him for a couple of games,” Agarkar said.

The former cricketer also said that the No.6 slot will be ideal for Pant to bat for he feels the left-hand batsman fits in the top six purely for his hitting ability. India will play the Windies in five ODIs and three T20Is after the two-Test series.