Rishabh Pant has been the only left-handed batter in the Indian top order. However, the wicketkeeper-batter has struggled to be a regular one in the recently played T-20I tri-series against Australia. Pant was there only in the 2nd T20I for India. However, team India’s senior wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was represented in three matches. It was clear that Rohit Sharma-led India is favoring finisher Karthik over Pant. However, Kartik’s bat hardly bot any spots on it.
Both Pant and Karthik have booked their flights to Australia for this ICC World T20. The Indian management has been switching on and off between Karthik and Pant in India’s playing XI.
Rohit Sharma wants both Pant and Kartik to enjoy the game ahead of the WC
On Sunday, while peaking at the post-match press conference, Indian skipper Rohit said that he wants both Kartik and Pant and Karthik to have some time on the field before the World Cup.
Rohit said,
“I wanted both of these guys to have a number of games under their belt before the World Cup. When we went to the Asia Cup both of these guys were in the fray to play all games. But I just feel that Dinesh needs a little more game time. He hardly got to bat (this series). Just maybe three balls. So that’s not enough time. Pant also needs game time obviously. But looking at how this series was it was important for me to just stick to that consistent batting lineup.”
After the successful T-20I series against Australia, India is going to face South Africa. The three-match series is going to start this Wednesday, at the Greenfield International Stadium. Kartik got his chance in all three matches against the Aussies. However, Rishabh Pant may feature against South Africa this Wednesday.
Rohit added,
“I don’t know what we’re gonna do against South Africa. We just need to go and see their bowling, what sort of bowling lineup they’ll play with, and who are the best guys for us who can handle that bowling lineup. It all depends on that. We want to be flexible in our batting. So if the situation or if the thing demands that we need a left-hander, we will bring in a left-hander if we need a right-hander, we will continue to do that. But we’ll try and manage those guys pretty carefully. I do understand that they need game time before the World Cup but there are only 11 players you can play, unfortunately.”
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