"Ring Up MS Dhoni": Former Australia Spinner's Advice For Rishabh Pant

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant made his captaincy debut during the recently-concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa earlier this month. The series ended all-squared at 2-2, after the final T20I was abandoned due to rain. Pant's leadership, however, was under the scanner after India had lost the first two games to the Proteas. In the same light, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg feels Pant should back himself more often, pointing out that he shouldn't let others influence the decisions. Hogg also said that Pant should either call former India captain MS Dhoni, or have a chat with head coach Rahul Dravid if he has any doubts regarding the captaincy.

"One thing Pant needs to do is be more decisive and take control out in the middle. Don't let other players come in and over-influence his decisions. If he needs to learn anything, ring up MS Dhoni or talk to Rahul (Dravid), get your tips, go out, back yourself and do the job. Because when he backs himself, we know that he can achieve anything," Hogg said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

Prior to the South Africa series, India were unbeaten at home under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, winning 11 games out of 11.

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The 51-year-old, however, said that it's unfair to compare Rohit's unbeaten record with other players who have captained India this year, adding that the opening batter hasn't captained the team away from home as of yet.

"Captaincy, captaincy, captaincy, always a discussion in India. Especially when they are losing and someone's made a comment that Rohit Sharma has a perfect record in 2022, he has won 11 games from 11. But remember, Rohit Sharma has not captained away from India this year. So let's not get too far ahead of