Former Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin believes Rishabh Pant should bring his own identity into the game and not be under pressure to copy someone else’s style. “Expectation comes with anyone at this level and that’s one of the things you’ve got to deal with. But the most important thing is to create your own identity of what you want to be seen as,” Haddin was as quoted by Sportstar.
“You bring your own style to the team. When I first got my opportunity to play Test cricket, I couldn’t try to be an Adam Gilchrist or Ian Healy. I had to bring my own unique style to the game. One of the challenges here is not trying to be someone you’re not and just be true to yourself,”he further added.
Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant have been the two options used by the Indian team in the two formats. However, KL Rahul has donned the gloves in the recent past and this has left Rishabh Pant in a fix as far as his role is concerned.
“India have been blessed for the last 10 years to have a superstar of the game in M. S. Dhoni. So, it’s important whoever takes over from that role creates their own identity. Dhoni has left a great legacy to the game. He’s left a great legacy for Indian cricket, but the next one involved, it’s up to them to put their own style to the game and their identity what they want to create as an Indian keeper,” Haddin said.
Haddin also spoke about the T20 World Cup which is slated to be held later this year. He believes Australia will be one of the favourites especially in their home conditions.
“It’s going to be interesting. I think the beauty of the T20 competition is that once you shorten the event, there’s five or six teams that can win it. We’ve got a great opportunity playing on a home soil, so we understand our conditions well,” Haddin said.
“But we need to use the bounce in our favour. There are a lot bigger grounds in Australia, so [we know the conditions well]. But the beauty of T20 tournament is that anyone can win it.”
