After being impressive in Test cricket, young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant could well be handed a debut in the first match of the ODI series against West Indies in Guwahati.
Pant, who has been prolific with the bat in the last three Test innings, took to Twitter and posted a message which is a great hint about him getting the ODI cap in the first match.
“Always ready to give my 100 per cent on a cricket field. Cannot wait to take on the West Indies in the first ODI on Sunday! #IndiaVsWestIndies #comingup,” he wrote on Twitter.
Always ready to give my 100 per cent on a cricket field. Cannot wait to take on the West Indies in the first ODI on Sunday! #IndiaVsWestIndies #comingup pic.twitter.com/cTyXnLEGuj
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabPant777)October 19, 2018
Pant’s inclusion comes even as the Indian team have struggled to get going in the middle order over the past 15 months. The young batsman is expected to add the much-needed impetus to the batting.
With Dhoni being preferred as the number one wicket-keeper batsman in the squad, Pant will walk out to play as a specialist batsman and if he does hit the ground running, it will put pressure on the seasoned Dhoni leading into the World Cup.
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“It is no brainer who is our No 1 wicketkeeper. In search of second wicketkeeper, we have given opportunities to DK and right now we are giving an opportunity to Rishabh Pant. At an appropriate time, we will take a call as to who is the best among the two,” chief selector, MSK Prasad said after he announced the squad.
Indian squad for first 2 ODIs against Windies :
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk),Rishabh Pant, R Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul
First Published: Oct 20, 2018 10:19 IST
Source: HindustanTimes