5 Players who are the future of the Indian ODI team

#2 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh - Heir to MS Dhoni

Born in Uttarakhand and based in Delhi, Rishabh Pant is a player in the making. Still only 21 years of age, he's expected to take the world by storm. He made his First Class and List A debut in the 2015/16 season, and was a member of the Indian contingent at the U-19 World Cup, where they ended up with a runners up medal. He scored 267 runs in 6 matches, including a century against Namibia and a record-breaking 50 against Nepal. He plays for Delhi in the domestic circuit, and in the 2016/17 season, he scored a record 308 runs against Maharashtra in the Ranji trophy; becoming the third Indian to score a triple century.

He has been impressive ever since, and has been known for his clean hitting of the ball and high strike rates. He gained a permanent place in Delhi's domestic circuit and by the end of the 2017/18 season was even named as their captain, albeit for the one-day format of the game. He has scored the fastest century in Ranji trophy (in 48 balls!) as well as the second fastest century in T20 cricket (in 32 balls!!). He also has the highest score by an Indian in the IPL when he scored 128 runs off just 63 balls against a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack.

He's a deadly hitter of the ball, often leading to comparisons with Chris Gayle and MS Dhoni. His hard hitting as well as long innings temperament make him a useful part of the squad and surely the future star of the Indian cricket team. With both Dinesh Karthik and W Saha well over the age of 30, it's time to hand over the mantle to Pant.

In 2019, he was awarded the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award for the year 2018 and narrowly missed out on the 2019 Indian World Cup squad.