IPL 2021: “Everyone cannot be a Dhoni, give Pant some time” - Ashish Nehra backs youngster to continue as DC skipper 

Former Indian left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra reckons that Delhi Capitals (DC) should retain Rishabh Pant as skipper for the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Under Pant, DC topped the league stage of IPL 2021 with 20 points. However, they bowed out of the tournament following losses to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the two qualifiers.

Pant’s inexperience as leader came to the fore as he made a few tactical blunders. But according to Nehra, the 24-year-old was impressive overall and there is no reason to replace him as captain of the franchise.

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During an interaction on Cricbuzz, the former India bowler commented:

“Pant should be retained as DC captain for next season. The more he plays, the better he will get. There is no doubt about that. The sooner he learns, the better for him and the franchise. Keeping aside a few tactical mistakes that he made, he was good as captain. Everyone cannot be a MS Dhoni, who came in and won the T20 World Cup directly in 2007. Give Pant some time to improve.”

Nehra further added that the close losses Pant experienced in the last few matches of IPL 2021 will teach him a lot about leading a side. He stated:

“If you observe DC’s performance under him in the last three games, they lost to RCB in the last over and went down to CSK in another tight contest. Against KKR, they didn’t win but they stayed in the game even though it seemed a lost cause. As a captain, these close games teach you a lot. Hopefully, Pant is retained as DC captain next season because he needs to be given some time to settle in.”

DC posted 135 for 5 while batting first in Qualifier 2 against KKR. Kolkata were cruising at 123 for 1 in the chase before DC bowlers engineered a stunning collapse. A six by Rahul Tripathi off the penultimate ball of the match ultimately ensured KKR's passage into the final.

Pant is the future, will play for DC for the next 10 years: Virender Sehwag

According to former India opener Virender Sehwag, DC should retain Pant as a player. A decision on the captaincy can be taken later on. Explaining his views, Sehwag said:

“Pant should be retained. He is the future and will play for DC for the next 10 years just as Virat Kohli has been with Bangalore since 2008. A call on the captaincy can be taken next year after the new team is finalized. If they have a better option, they can go with him else there is Pant.”

Like Nehra, Sehwag agreed that it would be premature to pass a judgement on Pant’s leadership. He also backed the youngster to improve with experience. Sehwag opined:

“Captaincy is such a thing that the more you do it, the more you learn. Rishabh Pant is young. Yes, he has made some mistakes but he will learn from it. When he looks back at the defeats, he will ponder upon things like whether he should have used less spin in the powerplay and so on. He will definitely learn and improve with time.”

Pant had a decent run with the bat in IPL 2021, scoring 419 runs in 16 games at a strike rate of 128.52.