IPL 2022: Comparing Rishabh Pant to MS Dhoni is 'not fair', says Sourav Ganguly

Rishabh Pant should not be compared with MS Dhoni, according to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly. The former India captain has said it is unfair to make the comparison considering Dhoni's vast experience is unmatched by Pant, who is just starting out as a leader.

"Don't compare Pant with MS Dhoni. Dhoni has so much experience. He has captained 500-plus games in IPL, Tests, and ODIs. So it's not fair for Rishabh to be compared with Dhoni," Ganguly was quoted by PTI, as saying.

Pant was on the receiving end of massive criticism after his side Delhi Capitals (DC) failed to make it to the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. In the must-win final league game against Mumbai Indians (MI), DC skipper Pant made a tactical blunder as he did not use the Decision Review System (DRS) against Tim David in a tense chase.

Ultra Edge replays suggested that David had edged the delivery from Shardul Thakur early in his innings but Pant did not take the review despite his teammates urging him to do so. MI's David went on to play a match-winning knock of 34 off 11 balls. A win over MI would have taken DC to the playoffs but Pant's mistake was seen as one of the main reasons for their early exit.

Meanwhile, Ganguly also backed MI captain Rohit Sharma, saying there is nothing to worry about the India captain's form or leadership ability after the five-time champions finished at the bottom of the IPL 2022 table.

Rohit had a poor run with the bat as well as he scored just 268 runs in 14 innings at an average of 19.14 and at a modest strike rate of 120.17.

"Everybody is human. There will be mistakes but Rohit's record as captain is outstanding. Five IPL titles, Asia Cup winner, he has won whatever he has captained, so his record as captain is outstanding. Mistakes will happen because they are all human," the former India captain added further.

Ganguly backs Rohit, Kohli: A matter of time, they will be at their best

Ganguly also said Virat Kohli's match-winning fifty against Gujarat Titans in RCB's final league game is a much-needed boost of confidence for the former India captain.

Backing both Kohli and Rohit, Ganguly said: "They are very good players. I'm sure they will be back among runs. They play so much cricket that at times they go out of form. Kohli played very well in the last game, especially when it was required for RCB. That's why he (Kohli) was so happy that RCB qualified. They are all great players, it's a matter of time before they will be at their best."

DC's loss to MI meant Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bagged the fourth spot in the playoffs. RCB will take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a must-win Eliminator fixture on Wednesday (May 25) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Kohli is the overall leading run-scorer in the history of IPL with 6,592 runs in 22 matches, including 44 fifties and five hundreds. Rohit, who for the first-ever time failed to register a single half-century in an IPL season, has scored over 5,000 runs and is the fourth leading run-scorer in the tournament.