Moment of reckoning for Rishabh Pant

Its’ been more than fifteen years since a wicket keeper has been picked to play in all the three formats of a series. Rishabh Pant has done the unthinkable by forcing his way into the team for the tour of West Indies. For the first time, M.S. Dhoni has been replaced for a whole tour by one wicket keeper since he made his debut. It shows the longevity of the man, his fitness levels, his keeping skills and his consistency with the willow. The fact that Dinesh Karthik, Wridhimaan Saha and Parthiv Patel have not been able to breakthrough during this period across formats shows the gulf between him and the rest of the keepers in the country for more than a decade.

Right place at the right time

Rishabh Pant must consider himself very lucky to have not played during the era of Dhoni. He is only twenty one and has already had test hundreds in Australia and England which has fast tracked him to replace Dhoni in the shorter formats. Dhoni is suddenly in the line of fire as the selection committee led by M.S.K. Prasad have given hints about grooming a youngster like Pant going forward. With Dhoni making himself unavailable for this tour due to his prior commitments with the territorial army it will present Pant with a great opportunity to establish himself in the shorter formats. With Pandya also being rested, Pant might have to shoulder extra responsibilities in finishing games for India in the middle order.

Difficult times ahead for Dhoni

A successful tour of West Indies for Pant might put a spanner in the works for Dhoni as his comeback might get even more difficult. The constant scrutiny over his inability to rotate the strike and finish games has become a talking point and the reason for his retirement doing the rounds. This is where Rishabh Pant’s success would be paramount for India. If he does well in the shorter formats in the West Indies next month, he will be more than a viable option for team India in Dhoni’s absence. It might also hasten the retirement of the great man whose contribution to Indian cricket is unparalleled.