The flamboyant Rishabh Pant is arguably the most exciting batter currently in world cricket.
The wicketkeeper-batter began his international career in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's shadow, as he says so poignantly in the television ad for the Dream 11 brand.
Over the last year, Pant's pyrotechnics against fierce English, Australian and South African bowling attacks -- remember that one handed six against the great Jimmy Anderson in Ahmedabad this time last year? -- may signal that the 23 year old is now breaking away from comparisons to his idol and becoming a force to reckon with on his own terms.
'He is somebody who can change the game literally in half an hour or 40 minutes of the game. I think what comes with Rishabh Pant, we are ready to accept that,' Captain Rohit Sharma said the day after Pant scored the fastest 50 by an Indian in a Test match.
'We know how he bats and as a team we just want to give him that freedom to bat in the way that he wants to bat. But also keeping in mind certain situations of the game, where the game is going, we have conveyed that to him, but we want to stick with his gameplan as a team,' Rohit explained.
'It just seems to get better and get better, his gameplans. There will be times when you will smash your head and say 'Why did he play that shot?', but again we need to be ready to accept that with him when he bats,' Rohit added.
More than his batting, the skipper was more impressed by Pant's vast improvement as a wicket-keeper. When he started out in Tests, Pant seemed at sea behind the stumps, especially to the spinners.
Pant's keeping has gotten more confident in the last 12 months and even though his stocky physique may make it tough at times to take those diving catches, Rohit had this to say: 'His keeping was best that I have seen. He kept well when England came last year and he seems to get better every time he keeps wickets for India, so that is something that I have been very impressed with.'
Wasim Jaffer, who has become one of the most vocal voices in Indian cricket, is confident that Pant will surpass Dhoni.
'He can definitely become a better wicketkeeper-batter than Dhoni,' Wasim told ESPNCricinfo.
'At such a young age, he has already played some of the most incredible knock so in the coming 8-10 years, I feel he'll be more mature and with more experience he can definitely be better than Dhoni.'
