India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who was serving as a back up to Wriddhiman Saha in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh, has been released to play in the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The southpaw will play the next two Super League matches for Delhi against Haryana on November 24 and Rajasthan on November 27. He will also be available for the semifinal and final if Delhi progress that far.
“Rishabh will be playing all the six matches (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs) against the West Indies. The selectors thought it’s only prudent that he goes and plays in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Delhi,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Replacement announced
Andhra wicketkeeper KS Bharat has been picked as Rishabh Pant’s replacement. He will join the Indian team as cover for Wriddhiman Saha during the remainder of the second Test in Kolkata. Andhra have not qualified for the Super League in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The Andhra star has been a regular face for India ‘A’ and was yet to earn any call from the senior team.
Bharat has so far played 69 games in the domestic circuit, amassing 3,909 runs at an average of 37.58. He has scored eight centuries and 20 half-centuries, which includes the highest of 308 against Goa in 2015.
“I played the first pink-ball match in Lucknow when it was introduced in the Duleep Trophy in 2015,” Bharat said.
“I got a call and was asked to join the team. I’m reaching at 8.30 tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to sharing the dressing room with my idol Virat bhai. Wriddhiman is one of the best wicketkeepers of the current era. I am hoping to learn a lot from them.”
