WHO CAN BE THE NEXT MS DHONI?
WHO CAN BE THE NEXT MS DHONI? Ever since making his debut in 2004, MS Dhoni, has carried enormous pressure on his shoulders. In his early years, he played under the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble and then took over a team which had a lot to prove.
Dhoni is considered to be the greatest Indian captain had lead the team in all three formats for over a decade until stepping down as the Test captain to hand the baton to Virat Kohli. Further to that, he was widely acclaimed for his big hitting in the death overs while maintaining a cool head on his shoulders. If that wasn’t enough, he would do the job behind the stumps too with complete finesse.
Dhoni has won it all— ICC World T20 in 2007, World Cup in 2011, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and led the team to the top of the Test rankings in 2009. Finding a perfect substitute for Dhoni won’t be an easy task. MS is someone who can absorb pressure, can keep wickets and more importantly be a game changer.
Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson are a few names which can pop up in the selectors’ minds for next MS DHONI.
Rishabh Pant:-
While the others on the list have not made their debut for India in Test cricket, Rishabh Pant has already made an impact in the longest format of the game and, in a short span of time. He scored a century in India’s fifth Test against England in England a field, which no Indian wicket-keeper could achieve before him.
Even the great Dhoni has not scored a Test century outside Asia, but Pant managed to do it only in the third Test match of his career. His potential, combined with a fearless approach down the order, makes him a dangerous customer for the opposition.
The only thing he needs to improve on is his glovework behind the wickets, as he struggled with his wicket-keeping in England, giving away more than 70 runs in the form of byes.
Ishan Kishan:-
Just like his idol, Ishan Kishan is from the state of Bihar and is the current captain of the Jharkhand team in the Ranji trophy. He is an attacking top-order batsman and led the Indian Cricket Team at the Under-19 World Cup in 2016.
He is being considered as the one for the future and was bought by Mumbai Indians for a whopping INR 6.2 crore at the IPL auctions in 2018. He repaid the faith bestowed by the franchise in him whenever he got to play for them, providing several blistering starts at the top of the order with Surya Kumar Yadav.
Kishan, along with Rishabh Pant, are the potential heirs to Dhoni’s throne, as they have the same kind of attacking stroke-making and a fearless approach to batting.
Sanju Samson:-
Sanju Samson first caught everyone’s attention when he represented the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013, where many pundits and cricket experts recognized his potential. Even the legendary leg-spinner, Shane Warne, once touted him as the next big thing in Indian cricket.
The right-hander’s immense batting talent is on display every time he takes the field.
But unfortunately, with the intense pressure of expectation on his shoulders, he struggled to perform consistently, and several off-field issued didn’t help him either.
Samson has represented India in a solitary T20I, but with age on his side and enough experience gained in the domestic circuit, he can be a man for Indian cricket in its near future.
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