Before the Champions Trophy starts on February 19, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed that KL Rahul will be the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper instead of Rishabh Pant.
Pant and Rahul went on a Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) trip of Australia with the Indian squad. In accordance with the needs of the team, Rahul occupied the slot in the batting order while Pant wore the gloves during the five Test matches.
However, after India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the tenth time in a row, the chemistry of the team changed. Rahul was selected to take the wickets in the three One-Day Internationals against England, while Pant was placed on the bench.
Before the third ODI, there were some rumours that Pant would be able to play in the starting lineup again. But it turned out that the rumours were false. In the first innings, Rahul held his position and scored a scorching 40 off 29 deliveries, including three fours and a single six, as India easily won by 142 runs.
Gambhir supported Rahul as the current best wicketkeeper for India, as the Champions Trophy is scheduled to return next week after a seven-year absence.
“See, ultimately, it’s very difficult to talk about individuals, but all I can say is that if he’s part of the squad if the time comes, he might get an opportunity, but at the moment, obviously, KL (Rahul) is the number one wicketkeeper, and he’s delivered for us,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.
Even though Rahul is tipped to retain his spot for next week’s marquee event, Gambhir wants Pant to be ready whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“See, when you’ve got two wicketkeepers in the squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say. At the moment, yes, KL is the one who’s going to start,” he added.
India will now polish their preparations before starting the Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20 after thrashing England 3-0 in the series. (Reference: ANI)