Former Indian cricket team all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has come out in defense of Rishabh Pant. The Delhi Capitals captain recently received criticism from fans and former players for calling his players back during the last over of the match against the Rajasthan Royals because of a wrong no-ball call.
Many members of the cricket universe would know that Pant called his players back from the field after the on-field umpires refused to call a waist-high full-toss as a no-ball. It could have been decisive because the equation would have come down from 18 runs off 3 balls to 17 runs off 4 balls in Obed McCoy’s over.
Soon after, the BCCI punished Pant by handing him a 100% fine of his match fees. Even assistant coach Pravin Amre and Shardul Thakur were fined. Some fans opined that Rishabh is not a candidate for Indian cricket team’s captaincy because he is still not mature enough.
However, during his appearance on Sports18’s show ‘Home of Heroes’, Yuvraj Singh defended Rishabh Pant and said everyone makes mistakes when they are young.
Give him time and don’t expect miracles: Yuvraj Singh wants selectors to back Rishabh Pant
Yuvraj Singh picked Rishabh Pant as the top candidate to become India’s next Test captain after Rohit Sharma. He felt that the wicket-keeper is always a good thinker. He gave the example of MS Dhoni and said the selectors should give a chance to Pant as well.
“You pick a young guy who can be a future captain, give him time and don’t expect miracles in the first six months or a year. I was immature at that age, Virat was immature when he was captain at that age. But he (Pant) is maturing with time,” said Yuvraj.Â
The former Indian all-rounder concluded by saying that Pant is the right guy to lead India in Tests.