Rishabh Pant and Ricky Ponting
India's wicketkeeper-batsman and newly-appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is certainly 'one for the future', feels legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
Pant, 23, took charge of the Delhi-based outfit in absence of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer and was tactically good with his 'street-smart' approach, according to Gavaskar.
Pant has also cemented his place in the national side. His impressive performances in Australia and home series against England have made him India's first-choice wicketkeeper for the upcoming WTC final and the five-Test series against the Three Lions.
"The standout team Delhi Capitals under young Rishabh Pant. By the sixth game, one could see that he was getting tired of being asked about being captain. Every presenter at the post-game ceremony had the same question to him," Gavaskar wrote for Sportstar.
"What he showed was a spark that can become a roaring fire if allowed to burn naturally. Yes, he will make mistakes; which captain doesn’t?"
Under Pant, Delhi Capitals finished at the top of the points table before this year's IPL was halted midway amid the growing number of COVID-19 cases in its bio-bubble. With six wins in eight games, the Capitals secured the first spot with 12 points.
“But like he showed in the few games in the IPL that he is clever enough to learn and his usual street-smart savvy meant he was on top of most situations and was finding his own method to get out of sticky ones.
"He is one for the future, no doubt about it. That’s because he has shown that talent can meet opportunity only when it walks hand in hand with temperament,” Gavaskar further wrote.
