Rishabh Pant has a quality future, he really needs to be looked after by his teammates: Suresh Raina

Veteran Indian cricketer Suresh Raina was all praises for the young Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Having made his debut for the Indian team at a tender age of 19, Pant’s cricketing career has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride.

Rishabh is seen as the potential replacement of the former Indian captain MS Dhoni in the national team. However, the batsman has failed to prove his mettle in the opportunities provided and was replaced with the likes of KL Rahul.

Suresh Raina has started practicing for his return to the match field in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Mohammed Shami, Piyush Chawla and Rishabh Pant. Talking about his experience, the middle-order batsman said that it has been a nice experience to practice after such a long time.

Speaking on the Star Sports’ chat show Cricket Connected, Raina said– “I have been practising with Rishabh Pant. He was hitting the ball very well. Then I had a net with Shami. All bowlers have been coming here and practising. Piyush Chawla also came, he bowled really well.”

Contrary to the beliefs, Raina feels that Pant has a lot of potential and can do wonders for the Indian team if utilized properly. Raina has strong faith in Pant’s capabilities and he hailed him as a ‘gun’ player.

Showering praises on the 22-year-old, Raina added, “I think Rishabh Pant has been amazing. He has scored a lot of runs for the country as well as in the IPL and in domestic cricket. He has got two Test hundreds. He played really well in T20s as well as ODIs. I think he is a gun player, he has a quality future. He needs to be really looked after by his teammates. And then you will see a lot of great performances coming from him very soon.”

It is going to be exciting: Suresh Raina on IPL 2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to host the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League from September 19 to November 10 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Suresh Raina will be seen representing the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings in the cash-rich league under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

On being asked about his preparation plans, the 33-year-old revealed, “We are going to have a camp. We have lots to do, we are going there I think 18-20 days before. It is good to go early because IPL is coming and we have been under lockdown for 4-5 months. So, it is good to be there before IPL and it is going to be exciting.”

Further in the conversation, the flamboyant left-hander also shared the preparation plans of his IPL teammates Deepak Chahar and Dhoni. “I have been speaking to a lot of the players, everything has been planned. Deepak Chahar has been playing and MS Dhoni is also training hard at his home. Everyone has to do it because this game requires a lot of fitness, a lot of commitment,” he said.