Roger Binny Backs Both Rishabh Pant And KL Rahul To Fit Into The Indian Playing Eleven

Former Indian cricketer Roger Binny has expressed his views on India’s wicketkeeping choice between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in limited-overs cricket. India has particularly not experienced smooth sailing concerning wicketkeeping duties since MS Dhoni’s last international match. Roger Binny engaged in an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda’s Facebook page and revealed his take.

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KL Rahul’s rise as a keeper-batsman arose following Rishabh Pant’s meek showing with the bat in white-ball cricket. While Rishabh Pant boasts of plenty of potential, he hardly converted any of those to substantial scores. On the other hand, KL Rahul took the gloves when Australia toured India earlier this year and continued his stellar form with the willow till the tour of New Zealand.

According to Roger Binny, there exists a healthy competition between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. The former Indian chief selector opines that the Karnataka cricketer is an extraordinary opening batsman, who can also play as a keeper. On the other hand, he sees Pant as an ideal short-format player having a range of shots. Hence, they both are backups for each other and can slot together in the line-up.

“I think it’s a healthy competition because KL Rahul actually picks himself as a batsman. He is a brilliant opening batsman, who can keep, who can double up as a keeper also for the team, whereas Pant is a middle-order batsman. He is a brilliant talent. He’s got the shots; he is ideally suited for the shorter version of the game. If somebody has a rough season, you can always call back the other. Both can even fit into the team as batsmen,” Binny stated.

“That’s a good thing to have with you as captain” : Roger Binny

The former Indian fast bowler added that both the international stars provide viable options for the Indian team. The 65-year old opined that if the management loses confidence in Pant, they can always go back to Rahul. However, to have choices amongst wicketkeepers is an excellent thing for a captain.

“It is basically what the team needs. See, if the captain feels Rishabh can perform there as a wicket-keeper, he’ll get it. If they lose confidence in Rishabh, they can go back to KL Rahul, but they have somebody in the team who can keep wickets too. That’s a good thing to have with you as captain,” he added.

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