Exclusive: Rishabh Pant Is A Match Winner, Should Be Backed By Indian Team Management - Lalchand Rajput

Former cricket manager of the Indian team, Lalchand Rajput has stated that Rishabh Pant should be the ideal wicketkeeper-batsman for team India and should be backed by the team management. Lalchand Rajput also mentioned that Rishabh Pant has a lot of potential in him and he is a match-winner. KL Rahul-Rishabh Pant has become the talk of the town in recent times.

Since MS Dhoni’s sabbatical after the 2019 world cup, the team has failed to find a competent replacement. Pant had been given numerous chances, but he failed miserably. But, his concussion in the first ODI against Australia made way for Rahul, and the Karnataka wicketkeeper-batsman has become a regular starter since then.

Now, Lalchand Rajput believes that Rishabh Pant should be the preferred wicketkeeper-batsman for India in the limited-overs format.

Lalchand Rajput Backs Rishabh Pant To Keep Wickets For India

Speaking exclusively to CricketAddictor.com, Rajput said, “As a coach you have got to look as to who is the best performer in that particular slot. I still feel that Rishabh Pant is a match-winner. Because he is the guy who has got a couple of hundreds in Test matches.”

“There is a lot of pressure on Rishabh Pant because his keeping was not good so people were talking about his keeping. Then his batting, people were saying that he is throwing his wicket away. But for a batsman like him, you have got to give them confidence and leave him alone,” Lalchand Rajput further said.

“Yes, he is a match-winner. If you look at Sehwag, when Sehwag came in, he used to play shots and get out. But Ganguly backed him and you saw Sehwag smashing triple hundreds and double hundreds. The talent is there in Rishabh Pant, everyone acknowledges it as well,” Rajput added.

‘The only thing is his proper shot selection and that will only happen if he will play more matches. He is still young, the more he plays, the better he’ll become. So the team management has to whether he is the one we will support or we will go for someone else. If MS Dhoni is not there, the management should back him for the T20 World Cup and that’s how he will grow,” Lalchand Rajput stated.

KL Rahul Has Done Considerably Well In India’s Recent Outings

KL Rahul has been an impressive performer for India lately in the limited-overs format and has been an excellent wicketkeeper-batsman for the Men in Blue. His performance in the T20I series against New Zealand earned him the Man of the Series. He is slowly cementing his place in the Indian team as a regular wicketkeeper-batsman.

Also Read: Exclusive: MS Dhoni’s Return To Team India Would’ve Been Easy Had IPL 2020 Taken Place – Lalchand Rajput