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It is really interesting to just fathom the fact that Rishabh Pant sat out of the entire T20 World Cup before playing his first match against Zimbabwe which was India’s last Super 12 match.
Just 12 months ago, the management was grooming him for the future so much so that veteran Wriddhiman Saha was told by head coach Rahul Dravid that going forward it is Pant who will become the ‘main wicketkeeper.’ But times have changed and how.
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It was Dinesh Karthik (DK) who played the second fiddle to Delhi keeper in the lead up to the tournament; Pant would be ‘rested’ among the senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. This was the norm when India toured West Indies!
Nevertheless, it all started to change at the Asia Cup when DK was fielded ahead of Pant in the opening game against Pakistan. And since then, it is Pant who is doing all the catch up.
Meanwhile speaking ahead of their semi-final match against England, Rohit Sharma has refuted the claims that DK will eventually return, saying that ‘both of them would be in play.’
He added that the rationale of playing Pant against Zimbabwe was to give him ‘some game time’ as it would have been unfair to play him straightaway in a big match.
“Between Pant and DK, see I have said in the last game as well, Rishabh (Pant) was the only guy who couldn’t get to play on this tour at all except the two guys we played at Perth. So, we wanted to give him some game time and wanted to have some options if we wanted to make some changes in the semi-finals of finals. And would be unfair to that guy to make him play the game,” he said at the pre match press conference.
“But again, we have told the guys that everyone needs to be ready for whichever game that’s up ahead. But, it was tactical as well as we didn’t know which team will we be playing in the semis before that Zimbabwe game so we wanted to give the left hander an opportunity to counter some of the spinners who bowled in the middle for New Zealand and England that was the thought.”
“What is going to happen tomorrow? I won’t be able to reveal now, but both of them would be in play,” he added.
Moreover, the skipper has confirmed that he is fit to play after he was hit on his hands. Several reports mentioned how he took a break after the impact, sending the press contingent and the fans on social media in a tizzy.
“I was hit yesterday yes, but it seems to be fine now.”
India will be up against England in the semi-final at the Adelaide Oval. The India skipper reflected on their 2-1 series win over the same opponents in July, adding that T20 cricket’s dynamics depends on the performance on any given day.
“Beating a team like England in England is a big challenge so our series win will give us some confidence. But at the same time we understand the dynamics of T20 cricket, it’s just being good enough on the given day.
