Fans used to chant ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ to tease Rishabh Pant: says Yuzvendra Chahal

India and Royal challengers Bangalore wrist spinner recalled the initial struggle of Rishabh Pant when fans in the stadium chanted “Dhoni Dhoni” to tease the teenager.

“Actually, everyone wanted him (Pant) to be like Mahi bhai. The way MSD was behind the stumps. I remember if Pant would ever drop any catch or the DRS went wrong, then the whole ground would start shouting Mahi Mahi,” Chahal told SGTV.

“So, there was a lot of pressure on Pant, because he was only around 19 or 20 years old at that time. We would tell him to ignore all these things and focus on your game. He was under tremendous pressurethen he was also out of the team for a while,” added Chahal.

The leg-spinner also lauded Rishabh Pant for the way he made his comeback after being dropped and the amount of maturity he has shown in the last couple of years.

“He made a superb comeback. He has improved a lot; he has shown a lot of maturity. His performance has been really good and I guess people should understand that when a sportsperson is on the ground, he tries his best, and nobody wants to perform badly. People should give a little respect to the player,” Chahal said.

“Bowlers are now getting good help from Pant being behind the stumps. See, there is no replacement for any player. There can be no replacement for Mahi bhai. Pant is trying his best to do better and better. No need to do comparisons,” he added.

Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals will face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 in Dubai on Sunday.