‘If you're calm like Dhoni..’: Danny Morrison 'impressed' with young Indian captain in IPL 2022; 'Hard to go past him'

The 2022 Indian Premier League saw a number of big changes in personnel due to the mega auction preceding the tournament. Many franchises had a new captain leading them into the edition; among Indians, Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders), Mayank Agarwal (Punjab Kings), Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans), and KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) were appointed as new captains of the respective franchises. In addition, the likes of Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals), Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), and Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) had already been leading their sides.

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Among the younger lot, captains like Pant, Iyer, Mayank and Hardik are drawing significant eyeballs as fans and experts alike analyze their potential to lead India in the future. Rishabh Pant shared some leadership responsibility when he was the vice-captain for India in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, and also led the team briefly during a game when Rohit had to leave the field for unknown reasons.

In a conversation on Star Sports' post-match show, former India head coach Ravi Shastri and New Zealand's former bowler Danny Morrison spoke in detail about Indian youngsters who are leading the franchises in the current edition of the tournament.

When anchor Mayanti Langer asks Morrison to pick a name among Indian youngsters who “impressed him the most,” Morrison named Pant, adding, “I like what I see in him. He is a very confident guy. It is pretty obvious in a way when you see MS Dhoni. One of the best seats in the house (is when) you are a wicketkeeper, you get to see what is going on. You survey the scene of what’s unfolding.

"If you can pre-empt, and be ahead of the game, that’s a special quality. And if you are quite calm about things, like MSD (MS Dhoni), then it goes well. So, it is hard to go past Rishabh. I do like what I see," Morrison said. 

“But the challenge comes when things aren’t going on very well, you have to change the bowlers around. You have to tinker with the batting order according to the situation.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator also spoke about how Indian players have grown through the IPL.

“I think it’s the beauty of the IPL. Ravi and I have seen it all since the inception in 2008, of the young Indian players getting the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the stars. Now, they’re getting more of an opportunity with captaincy. So, it’s ticking a lot of boxes," said the former New Zealand cricketer.