Going into the Champions Trophy, the decision on the keeper-batter slot rests firmly between Rishabh Pant‘s audacious game-changing ability and KL Rahul‘s quiet agency.
This selection, of enormous consequence for head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma, comes at the head of the ODI-series against England that is about to kick off.
Tuesday’s first practice session offered some very interesting hints as to select one of them in the final XI.
While both have practiced batting a lot, it was Rahul who had a long session involving batting and wicketkeeping, while Pant was really looking into only batting: one-handed sixes, cheeky ramps, and his signature falling slog and reverse sweeps-all showing disdain for the spinners.
Rahul was less flashy in his approach, picking gaps rather than bludgeoning the ball. Most important, he did keep wickets, thus consolidating his credentials ahead of Pant to be India’s first-choice ‘keeper.
With Rohit and Gill likely to open, followed by Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya comes in at No. 6 and the keeper-batter will slot in at No. 5.
Rahul gave a good account of himself in the 2023 ODI World Cup, accumulating 452 runs along with wicketkeeping. On the other hand, Pant sat out as he was recuperating from his car accident.
Indeed, Rahul brings stability; however, it is a highly right-handed top-order of India and the left-handed Pant can provide that measure of change.
While unpredictable and a hard hitter, Pant has the ability to take the game away. Rahul, on the other hand, struggles to rotate the strike through the middle overs.
In India’s last ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rahul kept wickets in the first two matches, scoring 31 and 0, while Pant played the third game but made only 6 runs. It is possible for India to play both in the XI, but one of them will have to give way, probably Iyer.
On the fast-bowling front, Mohammed Shami made a definitive statement, bowling express in almost one and a half hours. Facing him were two of India’s greatest batsmen in skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who enjoyed every moment of it.
Shami looked in great rhythm after his sports hernia surgery, serving a reminder about why he should be leading India’s pace attack in the ODI series. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, the younger bunch, had a lighter workload, while Rohit and Kohli, who had recently been struggling with their jobs in the longer version, really got into the groove with the white ball.
Rohit maintained his aggressive approach from the 2023 ODI World Cup, while Kohli demonstrated class with his exquisite drives.
India’s updated squad for the England series
Rohit Sharma (captain), Ꮪhubman Gill (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
