Pant faces Cup audition as Dhoni back-up
MOHALI: All eyes will be on young Rishabh Pant when he comes out to bat or keep in the fourth ODI against Australia in Mohali on Sunday. This was meant to be a one-off bilateral series, a warm-up for the World Cup. But the contests have already posed a few important questions about the Indian team. The likely decision India have to make will be whether to bring in Pant as a backup for MS Dhoni, with the ageing former skipper not sharp as a batsman.
For Pant, a greenhorn only three ODIs old, the rise has been fast. That he is seen as an ideal replacement for Dhoni became clear in the recent BCCI contracts with the young Delhi player included in Grade A, only behind the top grade that has just three players – Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma.
Dhoni has already given up his Test spot and Pant is breathing down his neck in the shorter formats. In the third ODI defeat in Ranchi on Friday, Dhoni, in his hometown, made 26 runs and 42 balls; the second part being significant. While Kohli was going great guns, Dhoni found it hard to rotate the strike.
› Pant can be an ideal replacement, or safety, for Dhoni. He is known for (playing) big shots. This series (against Australia) and IPL will give him ample opportunity to prove himself. VIJAY YADAV, ex-India wicketkeeper
However, between this series and the World Cup lies IPL. With a packed itinerary, each outing is an opportunity to start meeting the ball on the middle of the bat again with the daring and consistency Dhoni is known for.
Pant will have to look the part when he plays in the last two ODIs. In the matches he has played, he didn’t bat in one, and scored 17 and 24 in the other two, hardly in keeping with his talent -- he averages 53.04 in domestic first-class cricket and stamped his class while scoring two Test centuries, against Australia in Sydney (159) and versus England at the Oval (114) last September.
“He plays big shots, and being a left-handed bat he can provide an added dimension to the middle rung,” feels former India wicketkeeper Vijay Yadav.
Deciding whether or not to include Pant for the World Cup will still be an interesting choice for the national selectors to make.
Yadav said: “See, there is lot of technique involved when it comes to keeping wicket in Tests for long hours, but in the shorter format, Pant can be an ideal replacement, or safety, for Dhoni. He is known for (playing) big shots. This series and IPL will give him ample opportunity to prove himself.”