The BCCI announced the Indian teams for all three formats for the upcoming Australian tour, which had its share of surprises. While Rohit Sharma was not selected for any of the three formats due to injury issues, goalie-hitter Rishabh Pant was not selected in India’s limited squad against Australia. While many believed it was an unexpected decision by the selectors, former India starter Virender Sehwag said he was not surprised by Pant’s omission.
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“It was not surprising that Pant was not included,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz. “On the last tour, he was not part of the game XI despite being fit. KL Rahul had performed well as a goalkeeper and was used as a regular goalkeeper in the series of limited overs, and Rishabh Pant stayed out, ”said Sehwag.
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“It could have been a way of sending a message to Rishabh Pant that she needs to change her style of play. He would keep losing his grounds and does not finish the games, and he needs to learn how to finish the games. If you don’t, you won’t have a chance. “
During the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Pant had scored 350 runs, including a century. Sehwag further recalled how the Indian team would use Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper option before the arrival of MS Dhoni because he gave them an additional hitting option.
“During our time, Rahul Dravid was used as a goalkeeper because we didn’t have a good goalkeeper until MS Dhoni arrived. So we used Dravid as a goalie because he would be used as an additional hitter on the team, ”he said.
“But here Rishabh Pant is a good goalkeeper, but the way he gives away his grounds Kohli and Ravi Shastri might not be happy with him. Only Rishabh Pant can make this change – he needs to top off games at every chance he gets. He needs to show that he has the ability to return to the Indian team.
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