‘Everyone cannot be MS Dhoni’ – Ashish Nehra, Virender Sehwag urge Delhi Capitals to persist with Rishabh Pant as captain

Rishabh Pant enjoyed a sensational run in his maiden captaincy stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Under him, Delhi Capitals won 10 of the 14 games and finished the league stage as table toppers. While many backed DC to lift their elusive title this time around, the Capitals got knocked after losing Qualifier 1 and subsequently the Qualifier 2.

With DC losing both playoff matches narrowly, many fingers were raised over Pant’s strategies and decision-making. During the first Qualifier, the wicketkeeper-batter handed the last over to Tom Curran instead of Kagiso Rabada. The move didn’t work as MS Dhoni took his side home.  With DC falling short of the title once again, many believe the franchise owners might reinstate Shreyas Iyer as captain for the next season.

However, former Indian cricketers Ashish Nehra and Virender Sehwag aren’t of the same opinion. The duo urged the franchise owners to keep patience with the youngster and retain him as skipper next season.

Give Rishabh Pant some time to improve: Ashish Nehra

“Pant should be retained as DC captain for next season. The more he plays, the better he will get. There is no doubt about that. The sooner he learns, the better for him and the franchise. Keeping aside a few tactical mistakes that he made, he was good as a captain. Everyone cannot be a MS Dhoni, who came in and won the T20 World Cup directly in 2007. Give Pant some time to improve,” said Nehra during a chat on Cricbuzz.

Echoing Nehra’s sentiments, Sehwag said Pant, 24, is the future and the owners must persist with him. As far as captaincy is concerned, Sehwag reckoned DC can hand over the captaincy to someone else if they have a better option available. If not, Pant should continue as skipper.

“Pant should be retained. He is the future and will play for DC for the next 10 years just as Virat Kohli has been with Bangalore since 2008. A call on the captaincy can be taken next year after the new team is finalized. If they have a better option, they can go with him else there is Pant,” said the former Indian opener.