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Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Rishabh Pant will proceed being benched within the ODI setup so long as KL Rahul continues to attain runs.
Rishabh Pant last played ODI cricket on August 2024. (Image: AFP)
The previous Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that it’s a sorry situation for Rishabh Pant who’s struggling to make a case for his selection within the Indian team in the continued ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With India set to tackle Pakistan of their second group-stage game, Manjrekar feels that despite Pant being a rare talent he’ll proceed to remain out so long as Rahul continues to attain runs.
Reflecting on India’s performance against Bangladesh, Manjrekar doesn’t expect the Men in Blue to make changes to their playing 11 considering their dominant show.
With the ball, Mohammed Shami and his ability to show up in ICC tournaments was on display because the pacer finished with a five-wicket haul. Harshit Rana was also among the many wickets while the spinners did their job because the bowling unit restricted Bangladesh to a below-par rating.
Batting-wise, Rohit looked in good touch and continued his attacking charge within the early stages of the innings while Shubman Gill anchored the sport with a century while KL Rahul finished the sport off in style.
“India were pretty good (against Bangladesh), most boxes got ticked. I don’t see drastic changes if the pitch doesn’t demand. Kuldeep (Yadav) needs somewhat more game time. Rahul got some runs, so I don’t think any recent wicketkeeper-batter goes to interchange him,” Manjrekar said in a in a virtual interaction with JioHotstar.
“Till Rahul is contributing, Pant will stay out but Pant is a rare talent for India. It’s a sorry situation for him,” he added.
Rishabh Pant has not been able to ascertain himself within the ODI setup for a while now. Even within the prior three-match series against England, he was the just one to not get game time while the others had a game or two to showcase their best.
Many have questioned whether that is indeed the best move considering that Pant offers an extra left-handed batting option. Together with his power-hitting and unorthodox batting style, many suggest that he could do a greater job if he were to return lower down the order as a finisher.
However the Indian team management has as a substitute opted to advertise Axar Patel up the order, particularly on slower tracks to maintain the left-right combination going which suggests Pant’s probabilities of a start remain as slim as ever.
