Rishabh Pant
Ahead of the much-awaited pink-ball Test against Australia at Adelaide, the Indian team management is contemplating whether to give warm-up game centurion Rishabh Pant a go-ahead instead of Wriddhiman Saha. Silencing his critics, Pant, on Saturday, slammed a blistering ton against Australia A to be in contention to start in the first Test of the four-match series.
Pant hammered 22 off Jack Wildermuth’s final over of the night to reach his century in just 73 deliveries. The southpaw cobblered Wildermuth for 4, 4, 6, 4, 4 to end the second day's play on a high, steering India to a commanding 386/4.
After sitting out in the first warm-up game, Pant made his presence felt on the Australian soil, putting the management in a dilemma over the preferred wicketkeeping option for the first Test.
Former India international Sanjay Manjrekar, however, believes that Saha should be preferred over Pant as the team needs a better wicketkeeper in the traditional format.
“In Tests always keeping skills first. Drop a Steve Smith early and he gets a 200! So Saha. Also, need a better keeper against pace in Australia. Again Saha,” Manjrekar tweeted.
Saha has been the first-choice Test wicketkeeper for India lately but Pant's record in Australia can't be neglected. In four Tests Down Under, Pant has scored 350 runs including an unbeaten 159 at Sydney last year. And, with his recent batting exploits against Australia A, the left-hander has bolstered his chances to make a return to the Test set-up.
Saha, 36, was selected ahead of Pant in the first warm-up game against Australia A. After registering duck in the first innings, the Bengal gloveman scored a half-century in the second innings. In the second practice game where Saha was selected as a batsman and Pant was assigned wicketkeeping duties, the former registered a duck in the first innings.
