Former Indian cricketer feels Rishabh Pant shouldn't have been captain in the T20 series against South Africa

Rishabh Pant is enduring a rough patch in recent times. In the recently concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa, Pant could only muster 58 runs in five games. He was appointed as the captain of the team after the designated skipper, KL Rahul was ruled out due to groin injury. The left-hander's captaincy was also under scrutiny in the initial part of the series.

The series was eventually drawn 2-2 after India managed to make a comeback in the latter part of the series. However, they couldn't have a shot at winning the series after the final game was washed out due to rain. Meanwhile, former India cricketer and selector Madan Lal has said that he wouldn't have let the Delhi player become the skipper of the team in the first place. Lal feels that the left-hander first needs to become mature in his batting approach.

"I would have stopped him from becoming captain. Wouldn't have allowed it. Because such a player needs to be given this responsibility later. Becoming an India captain is a big deal. He is a youngster. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The longer he plays, he will gain more maturity," Lal said on Sports Tak.

The 1983 World Cup winner said that if Pant can take his game to a new level, he can become the captain. The former India player also spoke about the captaincy of MS Dhoni, who led the Men In Blue team to three World Championships.

"Over the next two years, if he can take his game to the next level, then he can be a good captain, can deal with things maturely. This is a player of a different nature. MS Dhoni was a quiet and cool captain, which suited him as captain. Virat Kohli is a brilliant batter. I’m not saying Pant shouldn't be swinging his bat but if he can play with a little more maturity, it would be great," added Lal.