Amid speculations of KL Rahul being made the Test captain after Virat Kohli stepping down from the post, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has made an unusual statement.
He thinks Rishabh Pant should be made India's new Test match captain. Many would dismiss the "ever-chirping" Rishabh Pant's possible appointment, but not Gavaskar. He says that the "sense of responsibility given to Rishabh Pant will help him score many more of that wonderful hundred he scored at Newlands."
Gavaskar cited Rohit Sharma's appointment as captain of Mumbai Indians in 2013 and pointed how shelling responsibility improved Rohit's game in the IPL for MI. "Just like Rohit Sharma was given the captaincy of Mumbai Indians when Ricky Ponting stepped down, look at the change in his batting after that. Suddenly the responsibility of being captain made him convert those beautiful cameos of 30s, 40s and 50s into hundreds, 150s and 200s," Gavaskar told India Today.
Gavaskar said that the captain should be someone who is an automatic pick across all formats of the game.
"I think what we have seen with Rishabh Pant as the captain of Delhi Capitals in the IPL, I do believe he has the capability of taking Indian cricket forward and making it a very exciting team to watch," he added.
The legendary Indian batsman also cited Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's example who was made the captain of the India team when he was 21 years old. "Tiger Pataudi was captain at the age of 21 under adverse circumstances when Nari Contractor was injured. Look what he did after that. He took to captaincy like duck to water," Gavaskar said.