Rishabh Pant
MS Dhoni's departure from the biggest stage has left a huge void in the wicketkeeping department. While KL Rahul has impressed everyone with his glovework in the limited-overs format, Rishabh Pant's future with the Indian side has been looking bleak, especially after his omission from white-ball squads for upcoming series against Australia.
Often criticized for poor shot selection and throwing away his wicket, Pant, 23, has been struggling to cement his place behind the stumps. Adding to his woes, the southpaw also had a lacklustre IPL 2020 season for Delhi Capitals, where he scored 343 runs in 14 games at an average of 31.18. Despite being labelled as an exciting prospect, Pant is yet to shine at the international scenario and prove his worth with the bat and the gloves.
Meanwhile, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, ahead of the gruelling Australia series, has labelled 'young' Pant among the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country. Along with Pant, Ganguly also hailed Wriddhiman Saha as the best choice for the wicketkeeping slot.
“He (Pant) and Wriddhiman Saha are our two best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country,” Ganguly told PTI. He also backed the youngster to regain his bat swing soon.
“Don’t worry. His bat swing will come back. He is a young guy and all of us need to guide him. He’s got tremendous talent. Rishabh will be fine," he added.
Saha and Pant will battle for the wicketkeeping slot of the Test side when Virat Kohli-led India will start their Border-Gavaskar Trophy trail at Adelaide Oval from December 17. “Only one can play, so whoever is in the best form will play,” Ganguly said about the preferred name for the four-Test series. While Saha and Pant will contest in Tests, India's white-ball squad has Sanju Samson to keep Rahul on his toes
