Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson is donning a coach’s hat for the first time as he will be the Delhi Capitals assistant coach in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Watson is very knowledgeable of MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant, played under Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings and also observed Pant up close. It’s no surprise then that Watson was eventually asked to compare the two wicketkeeper batters. Aside from comparing, Watson also highlighted a similar trait in Dhoni and Pant.
“It’s one of the things that the public in general likes to compare apples to apples. Every individual is different and everyone has their own nuance and skills. I know in a perfect world we could compare MS Dhoni to Rishabh Pant, but Rishabh and MS Dhoni are very different people and cricketers they have high skill and Rishabh as a leader is very cool and calm and this is what I have seen with MS too To be honest to see the skill Rishabh alone has, take it away from his leadership,” Watson said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
“At such a young age it is absolutely incredible to do what he has done in his cricket career. Rishabh can only get better; he can only continue to learn from his experiences. Ricky Ponting was one of the best captains I have had played under and he knew how to get the best out of his players,” he continued.
Watson also said that Pant will only get better and that he should focus on improving his skills with each passing day.
“So Rishabh has a good person around him. Rishabh can be the best version of himself and how the public and media want to compare his skills to MS Dhoni, they can do that at their own risk. For Rishabh and Delhi Capitals it’s important for Rishabh to be the best version of himself,” said Watson.
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The IPL 2022 season kicks off on March 26 with the tournament opener played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Delhi Capitals will play their first game against the Mumbai Indians on March 27.
Delhi Capitals squad: Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Rishabh Pant (c), Axar Patel, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal.
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