Ashish Nehra has made a strong case for Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. Nehra has also listed five reasons to go with his claim.
Pant, whose career is blossoming after being part of the Indian team in the recent tours, has earned an admirer in form of Nehra, who claims that the wicketkeeper-batsman is more than just a mere contributor.
The former left-arm seamer went on to elaborate his claims by providing these five reasons:
- In a team, there will always be contributors but at a big event like the World Cup, you need players with X-factor. Rishabh Pant is not a mere contributor but a pure match-winner, who should be picked for the World Cup.
- If you look at India’s batting line up, save Shikhar (Dhawan), there aren’t any left-handers in the top seven. You need variety with a left-right combination, where Rishabh perfectly fits.
- Rishabh can bat at any position between one to seven and so Virat (Kohli) and the team management can use him as a floater.
- If it comes to effortlessly hitting sixes, Rishabh comes second only to Rohit Sharma with his big-hitting ability. India will need that in abundance during the World Cup.
- No disrespect, this team has three clear match-winners and they are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. For me, the fourth one is going to be Rishabh Pant. Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik are all fantastic players but they are all in the same mould. You need X-factor, which this boy possesses.
When asked whether a seasoned finisher like Dinesh Karthik could be overlooked at the expense of selecting Pant, Nehra said both the players can make it.
“As I have already said, Rishabh could also be your third opener, so DK (as Karthik is referred to) could be your middle order batter,” he said.
But is it wise to have three keepers in the 15? The veteran said looking at Pant and Karthik as second and third keepers is wrong.
“I don’t look at it from that perspective. If Rishabh and DK are being picked ahead of specialist batsmen like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer, then you are looking at them as specialist batsmen.”
“So why complicate the thought process. As it is we have the peerless MS Dhoni behind stumps so treat both as specialist batsmen,” he concluded.
