Rishabh Pant The Virender Sehwag Of This Generation, Says Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar is full of praise for wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. The cricketer-turned-commentator has called him the Virender Sehwag of the present generation and similar to Sehwag, Pant needs to be handled in a different manner and ought to be allowed to play cricket the way he wants. "Penny dropped for me last night. Rishabh is this generation's Viru. Batsman who needs to be treated differently... which is to just let him be. You either pick him or drop him but never try and change him," said Manjrekar on Twitter.

Pant played a crucial knock in the Eliminator on May 8, scoring 49 runs off 21 balls as Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). It was the first time DC had won a knockout match in the history of the IPL.

Pant has scored 450 runs in the 15 matches that he's played in IPL 2019 for Delhi Capitals, averaging 37.5, with a strike rate of 163.63. So far, he has scored three half-centuries and his best score came against the Mumbai Indians on March 24, where he scored an unbeaten 78 off 27 balls.

Pant was excluded from the 15-member squad that will represent India at the 2019 ICC World Cup at England and Wales. In his place, Dinesh Karthik has been chosen as the second wicket-keeper for the quadrennial tournament because of his superior "wicket-keeping skills".

"We all (agreed) that either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will come in only when (Dhoni) is injured. In an important game, wicket-keeping is also important. That's the reason we went with Dinesh Karthik. That is the only reason why we went ahead with DK otherwise Pant was almost there. Pant is full of talent, he has time on his hands. Unfortunately he missed out," BCCI chairman of selectors MSK Prasad had said while clarifying their decision of not including Pant in the World Cup squad.

Many former cricketers, including the likes of Michael Vaughan, have time and again questioned this move of the Indian selectors, saying they should reconsider their decision and include the left-handed batsman in the squad for the World Cup that begins from the end of this month.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Rishabh Pant Sanjay Manjrekar Delhi Capitals IPL 2019 Cricket